Maybe, but I'm allowed to like more than one language, no? :)
But seriously, I don't think AOT can ever match a JIT on peak performance without reducing the abstraction level and significantly increasing programmer burden, and much of Java's design is around "we automatically turn RAM into speed." It's a great value proposition for huge swathes of the software industry, but I don't think it's necessarily the best strategy for niches that require performance and are RAM-constrained.
I like Java and I like low-level programming even though it requires more effort regardless of language.
Given your line of work, why not Java itself, on an hypothetical future where Valhalla is done, and AOT is a standard feature in equal footing with JIT capabilities/performance?