I got into carrying as soon as was realistic, for external reasons, and if I was going to carry it had to be with my existing guns, rather than purpose-driven guns.
I had an old, used .45 Springfield set up like a current Loaded gun, from a gunsmith/competitor sort of person. I also had a USP9F, so I naturally compared the guns against each other.
The 1911 had the advantage of thinness, which mattered more than I thought it would. It was heavy, though, and it had a lot of sharp and pokey bits on it. The USP felt nice and smooth to carry, and I liked the weight, but the added bulk was noticeable.
USP is a fantastic gun, but there's no way to make it less bulky, good as it is. 1911 can be pretty easily dehorned, and there was a kind gunsmith in my college town. Weight versus bulk at that point, but then I found a blued, old-school style Delta Elite, and I've been lost in that until P-F let me know about Roland Specials.
I've got and will always have some kind of life with 1911s, but even if not, the external hammer, thumb safety, grip safety, thin pistol makes its own sort of argument for being a carry gun. I have no doubts about aluminum framed guns, and am curious about sub-Commander slides on Officer frames, and how they might compare to comped 43x sort of guns.