[st0p]

I think that we are entirely different types of developers (and that is fine, this is in no way meant as as being negative on the way you work), but I couldn't care less about the first 3 points you mention. They don't add anything to my productivity.

I do wonder though, if visual attraction is such an issue to you, why in the first place do you use Vim?

[kilowatt]

I use Vim because I'm faster in it than anything else, hands down.

But I do think there's probably some vague psychological argument to be made about the elegance and simplicity of your tools mirroring a state of mind conducive to elegance and simplicity in your programming. It's why people are into tools like WriteRoom.

Plus, I feel like the smooth scrolling feature actually does help you preserve an awareness of where you are when you're browsing a file.