> 1) The the microswitches go bad after a couple years. It's possible to replace them, but it's tedious and you run a very real risk of damaging the PCB (as I have already done).

I have the same problem (with a different mouse model/manufacturer). Sometimes you can even "repair" the switches without de-soldering them by opening up the case and bending the metal contact a bit. I put "repair" in quotes because the repaired switches don't seem to last as long as new ones but at least it's easy to do and doesn't need any tools besides a screw driver.