Shaolin,
There are 2 main elements that I would comment on.
Firstly your original post is written giving the impression that you are looking to highlight all of the negative aspects of commercial flying. The result is that to an onlooker it would appear that you are trying to justify to yourself why you should not become a pilot. I fear the questions and how you wrote them will most likely bring out answers which support your negativity.
Secondly I would like to raise the issue of being "maddly in love with flying".
I am maddly in love with flying. I have loved aviation and the idea of flying since I can remember and am now 29. That love has not diminished if anything it is greater.
My father was in the air force and I spent my formative years around aircraft. At 18 I ignored a solid university place and joined the Fleet Air Arm as an observer (airbourne tactician). I was with them for 5 years until I figured that I had to be a pilot, so I left to earn enough money to start flying training. Due to various events, I am now just starting that transition to commercial flying. To my mind, the love of flying has not and will never fade as you inferred.
As such I would suggest that most pilots still enjoy the actual act of flying an aircraft. Whilst automation may reduce that enjoyment for some, quite a few airline pilots can be found at flying clubs or gliding clubs flying and instructing for no other reason than they want to. The elements that repeatedly get mentioned on PPRUNE as causing the most upset appear to be management and terms and conditions relating to the work.
I would suggest that you don't look at commercial aviation as solely being fixed wing airline work. The whole scope is much broader than that and in any case, rather than seeing what the negatives are in relation to one aspect, look inwards and see what you want. You may find then, as I have, that the only thing you want is to fly commercially.
Regards
Obs cop