I like your thread and I appreciate you sharing your experience. My brother insists that speed play frogs are the way to go. He espouses all of those myths about clipless as well. I ride on pinned platform pedals and 5.10 free ride shoes. My feet stay pretty planted to those pedals. Yep, I've slipped and scrapped my shins on the trails, but I wear shin guards now and all is right in the world. I like the ability to be able to bail if I have to (on my mtb).
On my hybrid, my partner and I usually ride busy bike trails. There is a bunch of stop and go and like you, when things start to get too serious around biking, it makes it no longer fun for me. So, today I tried my brother's frogs along with a pair of his shimano mtb shoes (we wear the same size). I must admit that clipping in and out of them was a breeze. It took me all of a a minute to get used to the action. I rode it around the block clipping in And out constantly and stopping and staring it it was all a breeze. I can understand, why he recommends them for a beginner. That said, for he type of riding I do, I think I'll stick to platforms. Our rides are for fitness and fun, not for speed or distance and we like to make stops for a beer, or coffee, lunch, dinner, snack, etc...
For me, I'm in the same boat as you. I think they are ok and it's great that there is choice. I may go clipless when I get a road bike bough. For reference, I run crank brothers 5050 v3 on my mtb, and azonic 420 on my giant.