Please don't leave us. We like TRs from other airlines - even the dark side.
Like you I have drifted over to the dark side but, alas not from choice. My semi-defection was caused initially by destinations not served by VS (TLV and EZE) and lately by price with flights to both LAS and, next year, to DUR via JNB. I still miss VS and in the past would not have worried to much about the difference in price but the price to LAS in First was cheaper than VS in Upper and the flight to DUR next year was also cheaper from Cork ( and even from DUB) than VS. I've yet to have a BA flight to match the best VS flights I have had.
I also had a brief flirtation to SIN on board SQ and travelled to DUR last year from DUB on Emirates. While people have held SQ to be the gold standard of service, my experience was that, while it was excellent it was also formulaic. I was addressed by name at all times but while a manifest was being consulted. People have also wished for a Book the Cook service. I chose it and when I saw the on-board menu, I immediately regretted it. I'll say nothing about the fact that on the return flight I had unwittingly booked a kid's meal
As for Emirates, while the cheapest on that occasion, the journey seemed to last forever! On VS, I would have left Cork airport midday, caught a VS flight later that evening, arrived in JNB early the next morning and by midday/early afternoon would have arrived in DUR. On EK I left early afternoon to travel to DUB by train, overnighted chez Aer John, was picked up early morning by CDC to an indifferent lounge, flew at about midday to DXB in a Business class cabin which was akin to a PE cabin on VS landing at about midnight, overnighted in DXB in an hotel (courtesy of EK because of a 10 hour layover) and then took a morning flight in another J cabin akin to PE arriving in DUR late afternoon. In other words, I left home at 1pm on Sunday and arrived in DUR at 5pm (3pm UK time) on Tuesday. I'm sure I could have gone to Australia quicker. True, EK redeemed themselves by routing me through LHR on an A380 (and a much better service) and thence to Cork instead of Dublin because of a misconnection but I really don't want to spend two days travelling to a destination I can reach in less than 24 hours even with 2 connections.
IN other words, the grass isn't always greener!
I read about how good BA were with upgrades and redemption flights .... Really I think not. Absolute zero availability was showing month after month. 
