Welcome aboard, miteymitey!
I too loved SH for years, but looking back it did have its bad points: did you ever think you had escaped those rabid DDs and start to leave, only to have the Time Compression trigger a magic signal and make them come back and start killing you all over again? Or the "I can see everything when the periscope's up" syndrome? I used to put the scope up and try to dogfight with the destroyers.:rotfl:
Still and all, SH4 is already a vast improvement in the 'immersion' department, and is looking to be the best of all...at least until the next big step comes along.