Hi tburg1
How time flies!...blimey.
If I'm honest...I use Sibelius..All the time...for everything!
I write with it, and tweak everything with it...as for me...using notation is far more enjoyable than piano roll!
I really like your point about What if Great Sound is as important as a good looking Score!
I use Sibelius....with VSL....there sound sets...and a plugin from Santiago Barx called 'Graphical Midi Tools'....that I think is amazing!
Using it, with libraries from VSL allow you to tweak ANY CC midi date you want, adjust the start of notes, and velocity all directly from the score using a little graphical interface.
For me....it's perfect...and as result I don't use Logic at all now.
If you use Sibelius Ultimate...with VSL....give it a go and see what you think.
As a side note...I think what Babylon Waves has done for Logic is brilliant...and I contacted Marc recently to see if he could work his magic on Sibelius sound sets as well...so who knows what the future holds.
You say you use the Cube and have the composer cloud from East West...then you're in a good place as the Sound set Project do sound sets for most of those instruments.
So to recap...in the time thats passed I've learned just to use Sibelius...for everything...as I'm more than happy with what can be achieved using it....but I also understand completely that it may not be for everyone....as yes..it involves a learning curve...but staying in notation...and seeing everything laid out over your score is just lovely!
I cannot recommend Sibelius Ultimate enough..and I think what VSL have achieved with the integration is magnificent..give it ago and see what you think!
I have done a few video blogs on my website www.everythingsibelius.com and most of them relate to playback configurations etc with VSL and I review and use that plugin too.
I hope this helps you out...
Take care mate, have a good one
Kindest
Paul