My path was similar, except with Spacemacs, which has excellent Vim-like modal key bindings. I've been using a custom config for many years now, but evil-mode has been a crucial part of my setup. A modal interface is simply easier to use and more intuitive than twisting your fingers to hit complex key chords. I use Vi mode in shells, TUI programs, REPLs, anywhere Readline is supported, etc.

So Emacs+Vim is the best of both worlds. You get the infinite extensibility of Emacs and a sane(-ish) programming language, with the superior editing and command interface. The beauty of Emacs is that it really doesn't matter how you use it. For some modes you may need to override a keymap, or use a package like evil-collection, but most behave well OOB IME.