Oh, I was all about LaTeX for a decade prior to switching to org, so I know the feeling. However, org is just so much more lightweight that I found myself writing/authoring a lot more once I switched. I now often author emails where I need rich text (embedded code with syntax highlighting, tables, etc) in org.
Oh, and I try to do all my presentations in it too - it can export to Beamer.
As for Emacs, I know what you mean. I tried it on and off for 10-11 years before I finally stuck to it. In my case, what helped was that vi/vim really was much worse, so it's not like I had a seriously good alternative. I tired of repeatedly switching editors per task (had one for Python, another for LaTeX, etc). I finally one day said "I need to learn a really good editor and stick to it." I bought the Emacs book, spent a whole week reading it, and forced myself to Google a solution whenever I couldn't remember how to do something. I was surprised how quickly I became proficient in it - within a month of use.
(All without learning elisp - I was a "power" Emacs user for 8-9 years before I learned elisp properly).
And then I discovered org mode. While I've encountered people who were proficient Emacs users but left for something else, I haven't found anyone who is an org mode user who switched to something else. I know people who use other editors in general, but still use Emacs just to use org mode.
