Hmm. It looks like I just am in a different place than you. For me, a set of very inexpensive physical books that contain all the rules for all my stuff (or damn close) and some good painting references made them highly valuable to me. I still use them regularly, including for Skirmish.
The Generals Handbook did nothing to diminish them either, since the game I bought when the GA books came out is still the game, or one aspect of it anyway. The GH provides some alt structure for different styles of play, but that doesn't mean I cannot still take what I want in a game, even stuff from different GA books if I want.
I find the GA/Original-Early AoS experience to be fantastic - still. I have no issue building forces from them. In fact, for me, the GH and the newer Battletomes are the downer. Don't get me wrong, they are neat and I am glad they exist, but they complicate the game needlessly and drag far too many good people who were growing as hobbyists and opponents back to a Dark Age of The One True Way to Play. It's disheartening.