I did ok on the hat switch. My SA was not stellar, but it was ok. I'd been playing flight sims for about a year when I picked up my TIR. That might account for my liking it, because I hadn't really, really gotten the muscle memory burned into me yet.
Within a couple weeks of switching to TIR took me from being able to keep track of the con to being able to keep track of him and being able to tell with much higher accuracy what he was doing, and it only got better with time. I find it gives me a much better mental picture of how the enemy and I are moving in 3D.
Just to give you a possible reference if you did this, did you get rudder pedals after playing without them for a while? I'd say TIR is the same level of improvement in gameplay experience as going from no pedals to pedals. YMMV, but that's what I found.
I've had several squaddies that didn't care for it. If you tend toward motion sickness, it can be an issue with TIR. It's also absolutely critical IMO that you spend the time to get your profile set up the way you like it, and in a way that works for you. I know some of my squaddies hated the thing until they got it set up right for them. It's the single most individual setting in the game, IMO. What works for one guy may not work at all for the next.
Sometimes people just don't like the way it works. I can't imagine it, but I've known a few people who just couldn't get used to it and preferred the hat switch views.
From what I've seen, the people that try it and like it vastly outnumber the people it didn't work for.
If you won't miss the money too much, I'd say it's worth it. Mine was worth every penny to me. Whether it will give you an advantage, I'd say if your SA is marginal with the buttons it may make it better. It's a tough call though, with it being as individual as it is.
If you wear a headset, I'm also quite fond of the TrackClip Pro. It just goes on the headset and stays there, as opposed to needing to wear a ballcap all the time.
Wiley.
