helimutt,
you seem to have a reasoned and fair concept of spifr. It is not easy and should never be approached flippantly, it is demanding and asks a lot of the pilot however neither it aint rocket science if all the boxes are ticked and the pilot is sufficiently trained and experienced. My first SPIFR flight was excellent in that it meant i had to be alert and active and when first entering cloud it meant remembering the basics. Other than that its down to system and time management. It always helps if your first flight are in benign conditions... weather not at minima at destination etc. I would much prefer to cruise back at 4000 and shoot an ILS than hedge hop in crappy wx at a couple of hunder feet!