Welcome! while I'm also semi new to the forums, i can tell you this is a fine group of folks with plenty of knowledge when it comes to vaping! I can tell you one thing for sure, what may work for some people may not work for others as there are just too many variables involved.
Personally for me, I was a 20+ year dipper, like you I started out on the Alien 220W and after fumbling around for a week and a half, just got my mod set today for what I need it to do and am very happy with it. I sat with a very experienced person today who has been around from the start and I can tell you, his first question to me was did my vape shop really not try to sell me a lower tier rig. He says so many vape shops these days are just selling whats trending.
I have a feeling I may end up picking up a smaller mod and use the Alien as a backup once I'm able to get my nic intake in check.
Good luck, and happy vaping!