>I get the impression that OP seems to just be abandoning systemd to build another... systemd. So it seems like not-invented-here syndrome.

well, he does say:

>There may be a bit of NIH syndrome leading to this decision; that’s ok, I can live with that;

>I don't really know about any of the drama surrounding systemd

I have only been a passive observer of said drama, it boils down to A) init was a stable, widely used, and well understood system that didn't need an update B) systemd takes on far too much responsibility, contrary to the unix philosophy.

personally, I have experienced only minor annoyance when having to re-learn familiar commands, though there seems to be a init compatibility layer that has made it pretty transparent to me. It'd probably have been more annoying if I were still an admin.