It depends on what you want to do and what you expect. As I wrote in my blog post, Emacs is more to me than just a text editor, just like a browser is more to many people than just an HTML viewer.

I don't use Emacs on the command line; I use a graphical instance. I usually only have two programmes open: Emacs and a graphical browser (eww still needs some work).

Being able to use my very own Emacs that has been molded according to my habits for pretty much every task is a great feature, but it only becomes obvious after some time of continued usage.

You are missing some things, yes. A more capable editor is well worth some time invested.

I'd recommend learning whichever of vi and emacs is better represented amongst those you can easily go to for guidance.

If you choose vi, I also recommend http://vim-adventures.com/ - I have only played through the free bit, but if the quality is consistent I expect it's worth paying for if you want to learn vim and have a bit of fun while you're at it.