@RedRobin i have the latest version of Elements at work (I did have a very old version of PS, which was fine for what i needed it for, but it failed some sort of security testing so I couldn't keep it and they wouldn't cough up for CC so i convinced them Elements was ok and with a one off cost it was achievable)
It has filters, but I can't see any way to upload new ones, altho its not something i'm used to doing so i could be missing something
It has select tools and you are able to make layers from them
it has spot healing, blur and clone tools
There is a history window you can bring up to track what you've done so far.
Your best bet is to DL it on a trial basis and have a play to see if it fits your needs. as I was on a v old PS, UI wise it's not too taxing to get used to. Some of the facial feature tools (making people smile, changing face shape etc) are quite scary. You're right it does seem to be aimed at holiday snaps and doing weird things that look pretty rubbish. (like this
http://abubblylife.com/2016/01/photoshop-elements-guided-edits.html/ - why on earth would anyone want to do this?)
But so far it seems like a decent tool for the money, thinking about what i used to use PS for. If I ever stop being able to use the old PS at home then i wouldn't feel too bad about coughing up for this. it also has dehaze which is in Lightroom CC but not standalone so i might do a cheeky bit of playing with my own photos at some point...