Hi Jayto - nice to hear your voice again. If I remember rightly, you've done a fair bit of thumbpicking in your time! I agree with your post. I always try and fit the melody correctly into a fingerpicked tune - which, to a certain extent, stops it being too mechanical. In the middle section - where I often screw around with the chords (!) - I tend to use banjo/bluegrass rolls with thumb and two fingers. This breaks up the alternating bass and stops the overall tune being too monotonous (I think).