I just need to practice with them more, especially in PP. Obtaining consistency is key. I bought a Seagull finder which I share between the two and helps composition. Autofocus seems reasonably quick and accurate - possible for street photography if not overly ambitious. I thought the quality of light and colour in India would suit the Merrills especially for landscape and record type work. I also thought I would be less conspicuous - a DSLR is quite large. Yes a lot of the India stuff was at the margins of the day and would trouble the Merrills, unless a small flash is used with them for fill. They would also be lighter - I am almost 60 and feel tired more easily.
Re film I still have my large format cameras ( gandolfi, canham and ebony plus lenses ) and enlargers and keep promising myself to dust them off and revisit that world. A Mamiya 7 and RB outfits are similarly unused and a Bronica etrs outfit as stored too. I never owned the Pentax 67 but admired its reputation. Financial values were not what they were but the LF kit might raise some money on auction. I miss the slow approach and 'craft' side of it, touching and feeling the materials and feeling immersed in the history of photography but wonder if I really miss all the darkroom work, fumes and mess. Probably not in reality, but digital still seems another step removed somehow.
Its a privilege to talk to someone successful in the business. Deceptively simple but engaging and balanced images of people are difficult to manage, especially under pressure. Kudos to you. My career was as a health care professional until retirement 2 years ago. Now trying to partially live the dream. At some point will start looking for outlets but dont want any pressure for now
Wish I did it years ago.....