Have you tried changing the stock rubber cap to the vastly more ergonomic concave model? It gives you much finer control, effortlessly. It's a popular aftermarket part available for a couple dollars on auction sites.
I suspect trackpad vs trackpoint is one of those whichever you get used to first things. I use a USB thinkpad keyboard for my desk and have multiple times went hours before noticing my mouse was not plugged in. It somehow psychologically maps 1:1 with a mouse.
I'm very attached to really good, big touchpads though - losing gesture support is hard!