I followed a similar path until I discovered Heptabase. Focused on speed like Obsidian, but the solo dev pushes out new features at an insane pace. They do this by focusing, so you won’t see a laundry list of features, and it’s pay only but well worth the money.

Finding your note taking app is like finding sobriety. Some apps work for some people but any given app is unlikely to be “the one”. My strategy was to just keep trying them until one sticks, because I know note taking is crucial for my success.