Basically, you're right. The strength of AS lies entirely within its people and its frequent flyer program.
But there are drawbacks; AS uses a very generous loyalty program to try to make up for their shortcomings, which at this point primarily revolve around being a very west-coast airline.
They've lost two partners in the past year or so, Delta and American, so if you find yourself needing to travel between two non-hub cities that Alaska serves, like Chicago and Miami, you're stuck connecting all the way back on the west coast. Because you can no longer earn any AS miles on DL flights, and AA flights are very difficult/complex for beginners to figure out.
BUT. All that said, AS works GREAT for me, and for many many other people.
AND they've got some fantastic partners, with some very attractive award pricing on those partners, especially in premium cabins!
So, at the end of the day, yeah, I agree, AS miles are much more useful and valuable than UA, which is also the program I came to AS from.
Happy flying!