I often wonder whether I'm inconveniencing myself too much in not even taking direct flights with competitor airlines in order to make HON. That position could definitely change when I have kids...
Also, since there's rampant devaluation in FFP's, I wonder if there is value with loyalty to a particular airline. I think LH group is the better of the airlines out there, since there aren't a zillion credit cards out there offering hundreds of thousands of free points (unlike Avios, Krisflyer, Aeroplan, etc). It's actually fairly difficult to amass significant points on M&M without actually flying (even if the M&M BarclaysCard is churnable).
One thing I do find valuable about HON is that if I'm doing an EU flight and connecting through FRA/MUC/ZRH/GVA/VIE, being an HON is hugely valuable in case the connection is tight or if there is a long layover. There is simply no other way to access the lounges, which are excellent (unless you have an FCL voucher). I don't think there's any way to get comparable service unless you buy VIP service outright, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you'll get good service in tight connections (I understand LH/LX will sometimes hold flights to wait for an arriving HON).
Just my thoughts. I'm about 130k HON miles away and if I make it I'll report back on whether I thought it was worth it.