It's not Sony 'Hate' at all. You can be critical without 'hating' Sony. I was referring solely to Sony in terms of the A7IV, not lenses. The camera I wanted wasn't a £2k A1, but rather something modestly improved in different areas than what Sony have gone for.
What I wanted, in order, was 1) better silent shooting (1/60-1/120 readout), 2)Lossless compressed RAW, 3) improved AF, 4)better EVF/screen 5))more robust/ergonomic body. So the 4IV delivers on two of these and kinda on another two but not at all on my number 1. Given the A9 is now 4 years old, I'd have thought some of the silent shutter capability could be ported over to the A7IV - even a 1/60 readout would've been a massive improvement. As it stands, the A7IV isn't a proper silent shooter. As I'm increasingly doing stills work, that's a big disappointment.
In terms of ergonomics, I like the A7sIII body but despise the screen as it actively hinders my shooting style. To appeal to vloggers, they've hamstrung it for photographers, which is galling. The EVF and Screen are only marginally improved in resolution but aren't even on par with last generation cameras like the A7RIII, if I've read the specs right. This isn't a deal breaker, but I'd hoped for slightly more. I'd say that touchscreen menus (and the redesign) aren't an exciting new feature, but rather a correction of a glaring absence in previous bodies, given that touchscreen tech was already there. Lossless Compressed RAW is also a correction of previous failings.
Did most people really want more res? I've not heard any of the A7 shooters I know say this - it's more of a case of 'I'll take it, but I don't need it'. For the foreseeable future, 24mp is a sweet spot for me and, you said it yourself, if you want high res you can get the A7RIV.
So, it isn't a case that my expectations were higher, but rather they were different. The camera I envisaged wouldn't have cannibalised others in the range, barring maybe the A9II which has already been usurped by the a1 at the top end. The A7R would still be Res-king, The A7sIII the video-king, and the A1 the king of them all.