Well, I can see people buying this used because it looks good and fits in their hands. Thanks for the link. I run on 9 too - if it weren't for the SE which I'm going to buy I'd downgrade by now since it has become rather unbearable. I can load like one webpage into the RAM - switching to another app and going back to Safari will reload again - which, depending on connection and complexity of the page can take ages and you're also at the top of the scroll area again. Basically, this iPhone has become my E-Mail notifier and Podcast device (for which it's also at the edge of unbearable).
Yes, using a 4S at this point definitely changes your behavior. Like you, I was holding out for the SE and I'm really happy it's here and looks good (except for the 1GB RAM; that is disappointing.)
Yes, the 1GB is troublesome. However, judging by the 4S at least we know that half of it will be available for apps in iOS 9, since the 512 of the 4S is right at the edge of being filled by the OS. The question is of course how many upgrades it will survive - this smells a lot like planned obsolescence.