Great read! Nice work!
All throughout the late 00s and a bit of the early 10s I kept going on about how Rowling was the best author and the coolest person in the world. She was so enamoured with her world and its characters that you felt as if she was a link into this secret world, hidden away from nosey muggle eyes. Every time she said something on twitter or in an interview, it felt sensible, intelligent, and thought-through, and I just nodded and smiled.
The past 6-7 years or so have been detrimental to my image of her, mainly because of things you've already brought up in the OP. She feels more distanced from Harry Potter and the fans now, and it's like she's skirting around every bit of criticism. For instance: it's been, what, two years(?), and not a single response to the vitriol against The Cursed Child. That's not the Rowling I know. I don't know if she's just noticed she doesn't have to care anymore, or if her words are more contractual and liable these days (I find it hard to believe that, but it's something). I feel like she's out of touch with her fanbase, and believe we're all like the vocal majority – the ones she despise.
That being said, she's got FBAWTFT now, and I quite enjoyed the first one (despite casting), so I'm holding out for TCOG.