Da, when I’ve talked about chasidishe torah with Lubavitchers, they’re on a different spectrum than others. Their answers and logic doesn’t satisfy me either. Plus, being a “rabbi” in chabad doesn’t mean that much. Anyone mildly successful is pushed into smicha, many getting it online.
Go to a talmid chacham with your kashas; ask someone like rav Efraim wachsman, better yet, post one or two here, and see what you get – I’m very interested to know what kashos are bothering you.
Also, the arizal said that he learned his Torah from heavenly revelations. The Gaon also had tons of revelations; he said he didn’t want them because they didn’t require ameilus. The shu”a also learned from a malaach; same thing with the baal shem learning from Achiah – it means his neshoma came to him and taught him torah. I don’t know why this is so surprising.
All of the talmidei habaal shem were first known to be very big in nigleh, too. It’s true that the baal shem himself did not reveal himself initially as a talmid chacham; I’m sure there were reasons for this, but his talmidim were – we’re not talking about a person who courted simpletons. They respected him and saw what he was in both nistar and nigleh.
Sechel….whenever a non Lubavitcher says something in the name lf “the gaon” it refers to the vilna gaon.