It's a big commitment, and that's serious money for a hobby. Obviously I'm in step with you here, and I think the investment is worth it if you are more than casual about this hobby of ours. I don't know if would help, but here is a thread from the Frontier boards from last summer with comments about the Virpil gear in Elite
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/virpil.543024/
Are you registered on the Frontier boards Von Due?
I also understand if there is anything that fosters any doubt, like the customer service you mentioned. For that sort of money you want to make sure you are making the right decisions. I don't know what gear you have now, but as all of these peripherals are unique USB devices (unlike say my Cougar where the stick and throttle are seen as one) maybe you could do it in shifts, adding one piece at a time and mixing and matching. One of the guys in our group has a mixed Warthog and Virpil setup for example. Good luck and keep us informed of how it goes.