I read the thread in the LH forum. There are plenty of experts there who have put things in perspective with respect to fares; *S/FTL, *G/SEN, and EK Gold qualification; and frequency of flights.

The only thing I would add is for you to determine how valuable miles/points are to you.

I think the LH M&M Program, in spite of the ridiculous fuel surcharge, is far superior to EK Skywards in terms of award/upgrade availability and transparency (at least in Business/First).

So if mileage redemption is very important to you, I would regrettably advise you to steer away from EK, where saver and upgrade awards are hard to come by and standard awards are too expensive.