I can see where you're coming from, Alan. I've had my pipes for about two years, and have played piano, bass guitar and guitar in my youth, so I have that to compare it to. The pipes are, in some ways, limited when compared to other instruments, especially the clarinet. When I decided to get back into playing music about three years ago, I gave some serious thought about whether to take up the piano again or learn the pipes from scratch. I didn't know whether I would be up to the task of learning how to deal with such a finicky instrument (and I mean that in a respectful way). Now that I'm in the middle of this process, I'm extremely glad that I chose to take up the pipes. Part of it is a cultural thing. It feels so good to actually play this thing that I've loved the sound of since I was little. It nearly brings my dad to tears. Heck, when the thing is humming perfectly, there's no way to describe the feeling, the pulsing of the sound; it's enveloping. When you're with a band, it's magnified. I can forsee a time when I will be able to concentrate more on the musicality of the instrument, and I look forward to that.
It sure takes a lot of practice, though. I can't see how I'd have the time to practice anything else, so I don't see that becoming competent on multiple instruments is in the cards for me. Anyway, that's enough of my rambling.
It's a good thing that we all don't want to play the same instrument!