I completely agree with you, except that I value customization higher than you do, so I choose emacs. Have you considered VIPER mode for emacs? I know it's no

I completely agree with you, except that I value customization higher than you do, so I choose emacs. Have you considered VIPER mode for emacs? I know it's not complete VI emulation but it's pretty close. If I was to start again (with no muscle memory built up) that is absolutely the way I would go.