Indeed, it is horses for courses.
With regards to BA, I don't reject your claims entirely, but I want to clarify a few things -
1. 50% of time away from home is quite some way from the truth (even for super junior pilots), unless you want to be away that much.
2. There are hundreds of destinations on the BA network, so it's unlikely you'll get bored of the same hotels. Besides, if you are making the most of exploring the world you are hardly staying in the hotel anyway. Getting bored of a city takes some time indeed, let alone hundreds of cities. There are many more than one lifetime's worth of things to enjoy on the network.
3. I would argue that Point 2 above, alongside the fact we can keep our career professionally interesting by changing fleets every 5 years, means that a career at BA is much less likely to become repetitive than at a LoCo.
4. Like you, I am mid thirties with kids. Personally, spending some time away from home enjoying my career, as well as working less hard than in my previous LoCo life, allows me to really enjoy my time with my family as I am healthier and in a better frame of mind. It's personal, but many BA colleagues I talk to share the same point of view.
5. Whilst I wasn't a captain, I still had to absorb a 40% pay cut when I left my LoCo job. So I was in the same boat. It's a tough call, but it's only money. You can't take it with you. I've lost track of the amount of times I've been on a trip thinking that money can't buy the "free" experiences on offer down route.
It's far from perfect, but I love it.
Each to their own, as they say.