Westhawk:
I'm sure we could have an interesting conversation over coffee (or something stronger). I'd invite PJ2 and HyFlyer as well to bring their perspective.
It's interesting that most of the programs you've "worked through" have their roots in QA. In Canada, the regulations don't require CAR 705 (your FAR 119) certificate holders to have operational QA programs. I'm a firm believer that if they'd have been required to certify a QA program to a standard such as ISO, they'd have been well on their way to having an effective SMS.