Keleyeemoh is right, if insensitive to your position :P.
I suspect that your issue isn't really something that can be solved by altering the game itself too much (asside from bringing back interacting with your Pokemon; I never did understand why they didn't continue that in every game after HGSS. It really can't take up that much data!). Rather it has to do with your mindset while playing. Unless I'm mistaken, you feel somewhat compelled to optimize your team when there are no restrictions. This isn't a problem with the game itself; as kele pointed out, nothing requires that you do that unless you want to. It's a problem with the fact that now that you know how to optimize your Pokemon you feel obligated to do so. It's something that I know a LOT of people who've tried competitive battling experience; knowing all the guts of the game takes some of the mystery and charm out of it. It's not a flaw inherent in the game though, it's a flaw inherent in people.
What I suggest is trying out new ways of playing to try and force you to ignore those obligations. Since it's clear that Nuzlocke's don't sit well with you (me either really, I can't ever make myself release a "dead" Pokemon), I suggest trying things like a
Scramble Challange (misspelling intentional) or a
Gauntlet. In both of these you can set some ground rules before asking people to give you challenges, so you can ensure you don't have to deal with Pokemon dying or anything. In your specific case I'd say the Scramble Challange should suit you more since it's very good at getting you attached to your Pokemon.