I might give it another go. I also really really like the guys behind DuckDuckGo, so I'm still hoping they can get their search algorithm on par (or at least near) Googles'
By my experience DDG usually provide way more appropriate answers when you are looking for a reference or a documentation entry. Google still is better for recently pushed contents like news and is still marginally better for finding result inside Q&A sites. After 1-2 years of DDG by default I tend to know in advance which query is best for which search engine and so I half conscientiously add the !g while typing when needed.
Some of the other bang commands do look useful, though.