> many of my rebbeim were talmidim of his, and none had a favorable view of
you can’t fully rely on this. It is not the first time when Great Rabbis respected each other more than their students interpret. We have just a handful of machlokes between Shammai and Hillel, and way more between beis Shammai and beis Hillel… As you interpret examples of politeness and closeness between Gedolim as forced, you can also explain sociology that n0 described – each group end up creating educational environment where they focus on their derech and paint the rest in negative light as the simplest way to keep students in line. I feel pretty unbiased saying this: I think, over time, I equally confronted chabad/misnagdim/moderni with what they mischaracterize about the others.