I think you're underselling modern vacuums. Sure, a cordless stick doesn't work very well, but there's a lot of excellent canister and upright vacs made by name

I think you're underselling modern vacuums. Sure, a cordless stick doesn't work very well, but there's a lot of excellent canister and upright vacs made by names like Miele and Shark that have plenty of suction. Certainly not as much as your 750 watt monster, but I got the same sensation of using a new vacuum and seeing it pull up tons of dirt I didn't know was there with our latest Shark upright.