Syag > You seem to have this point of gravitating towards rabbis who step over the line
This might be a bias of the discussion here. Not many people here disrespect Rashi, so I don’t really need to comment on this. And when I quote, say, R Twersky, you don’t object, so you don’t notice that. When I quote someone I know personally, I have a fair mixture of those who have a more traditional or more modern derech. For your benefit, I mention person’s derech sometimes.
My personal derech is to learn Torah from anyone who knows it well, whatever his derech is. And I am offended, in turn, by people who disparage someone just because they happen to disagree with them. I saw enough of Talmidei Chachamim on all sides of politics who do not behave like this.