It isn't the highest paying path in life, but this is what I chose as well. Working for small companies with good people is infinitely better than working at massive companies with decent people. No matter how many good intentions there are, the politicking is utterly exhausting and unfulfilling.

Then again, I'm the kind of person who moved to the countryside to get away from the city life, so YMMV.

I've done both things, and they have their pros and cons. Big businesses can build bigger and more impactful things, and it is very satisfying to contribute to those things. The original poster is still clearly proud of the things they were able to build by "playing politics and kissing ass".

But (for me) there is definitely a certain ennui to being a little cog in a big machine, especially because everybody else there is doing the same thing. So being in smaller more cohesive companies definitely has its advantages.

The grass is always greener and all that!