you brought my attention back to parts of this game i just really didn't like, i remember loving the first half just like you and falling off pretty hard, dragging myself to the end just..because? great writeup!

"I found myself constantly losing to bosses just to come back with a team specifically designed to counter it"

every smt game is based on trial and error. grinding is pointless - it's all about party composition. fuse lots of demons, negotiate, and build parties around what's blocking your path. most of this series is spent in menus. though it is worth noting that early game is more of a struggle than late; eventually you hit a point where you've got a pretty reliable team for most circumstances and can adapt on the fly

if that's not your thing, then the only games i think you might enjoy in the series are smt iv and apocalypse. maybe something like digital devil saga as well since it doesn't have demon fusion at all