I'm the same-- on my recent trip, the confidence I had going around corners on my loaded bike with 26x2in Supremes was.....supreme (apologies)

I know lots of factors come into play with cornering speed and whatnot, but I am convinced that the wider tires at the right pressures for the weight of the bike (ie, not too stiff, yet not wallowy) was the reason I was able to really lean on those suckers on good pavement and still allow for a good amount of suspension effect that allowed the bike to be reasonably settled over bumps.

I know we tend to "remember" downhills and going around corners as "faster and more dramatic" than it really was, but I was really impressed with out my bike handled around corners and compared to going around corners fast over the last few decades primarily on 28mm slicks, these 50mm (measure 45mm on my rims) very much gave higher grip and confidence in how the bike would behave mid corner.
There were times on this trip that going into a corner hot, I instinctively felt comfortable enough to slide off to the inside of the saddle a bit to get my body weight more down and into the corner--basically my old motorcycle habits coming into play, but I would never have done this if my "seat of pants" indicator was not telling me it was ok to do it.
I don't recall ever doing this on 28's, although I do suspect that I am better at cornering than 20 years ago--but I also suspect that in general, running lower pressures than I used to in the past has been an important factor in how my tires behave in corners and over bumps (even on an unloaded bike, with 28s, I run lower pressures than before and can corner faster and with more confidence than in years past)