Long text but great observations!
But I have two comments
Originally Posted by cheekygeek 
As I looked into it even more these additional things were added to the "Pentax advantages" list:
• the fact that I could use any K-mount lens made over the last three decades, and even M42 lenses with an adapter.
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Now the things that some people might consider negatives:
• Lens options.
Those two statmentes don't work together
Pentax actually has a lot lenses to choose from. They're not so much available in shops like for Canon or Nikon, but on ebay and other places you can find everything. If it's not problem for you to use manual lens, I guess that one can get more lenses for Pentax than for any other brand! Except maybe Nikon
Live View requires a CMOS sensor. The K200D has a CCD sensor.
Not so. Almost all P&S cameras have CCD and Live View
And Sony α350 has CCD and Live View.