I don't want to misinterpret you. You're not saying that landing sorties/kills is unimportant, right?
If that's what is fun for you, then go for it. Every so often, just to remind myself, I fly a flight where I only fight when I can't lose. It bores me. Anyone can fly the fringes, hang high and only engage when it's a perfect set up, and burn off all their fuel and go home. I can do that, but it seems silly. it proves nothing to me, other then I can waste time avoiding a situation where I might 'die'.
I hardly fly an uber bird that can disengage and run in the 38G. And it's a huge target
But there is great satisfaction for me in getting into the fight and seeing what I can do against the latewar birds and those with alt and E.
Again, since there is no risk of really dying, the reward for me is defeating the other guy if I can in those situations. I suppose it's why some of us go low numbers country too. I'd rather fight from the under dog position then from the one with all the advantages. I want to get into the fight, even if I might not win.
You've gotta play the game the way you want, as it's your dime and your definition of fun. I have to play it the way that's fun for me.