>I'm only realizing now I'm older and would rather pay a little premium for the convenience of not wading through a gazillion different sites to get the right bookings and prices for a complex itinerary
Have you tried FlightFox? I haven't yet, and have no vested interest in / association with them (i.e the suggestion isn't me shilling :)), but it seemed an interesting possibility to me.
With an agent I could say stuff like - these are roughly the parameters I want to fly under; these are the airlines I'd rather chew razor blades than fly on; use your common sense to figure something out I'm not going to hate as an itinerary.
Have you tried FlightFox? I haven't yet, and have no vested interest in / association with them (i.e the suggestion isn't me shilling :)), but it seemed an interesting possibility to me.