Okay, I've decided to make the jump to 4.3 and will most likely do it on the weekend as that is when my device is not in much use and can afford the downtime. Provided nothing surprising shows up. Also give me time to prep the device for a clean install of 4.3.
My reason is that I ran out of device storage on the apps I do use and need as well as leisure (and it's a total PITA to constantly uninstall and reinstall apps). Updates are starting to bugger up because of device storage being unavailable. So the option to move apps to SD will be taking preference over other preferences.
I think (hope) I can live with the features either being moved, replaced or removed. Either way, I found a 4.1.2 ROM specific to my device. So if it gets too unbearable, I have a fall back plan in place too.
I'll let you know once I've updated and start playing with it. I'm hoping it won't trash my device or make me regret the decision.