All very true. The lacking atmosphere isn't helped by the complete lack of variety in passenger appearance and the sounds aren't great: off-key and far too quiet in the 313 and 314 units for one. I know how difficult it can be to produce accurate sounds, but given the high prices the DLC routes command, it ought to be better.I'm at a similar place to be honest. I gave up Train Sim Classic which (despite its imperfections) I had enjoyed for many years, to move to TSW. I also can't really recommend the TSW series for the reasons you mentioned, and it just doesn't really feel 'right' to me either, too game-y perhaps and as you say lacking atmosphere. The obsession with EMU routes also doesn't sit well with me and many of the other routes lack appropriate rolling stock to be realistic. It was a lot of 3rd-party developer's (such as Armstrong Powerhouse) hard work that made TS Classic a game worth playing, but with TSW; Dovetail have frozen the developers out so it will never really improve enough to be worth playing. I also liked editing, creating and playing my own scenarios too, which you also can't really do with TSW.
One other problem with the developers themselves is their general attitude which, to be blunt, comes across as smug and conceited. During the run-up to the Cathcart Circle route's release, I watched a few of their live streams and they don't come across at all well, especially the one with the pink headphones.