image_attach vs imagefield vs asset vs ?

I'm trying to evaluate the best way to be handling image attachments into the future.

I've been really happy with image_attach so far, as it does exactly what I want.
But it doesn't do that in a CCK-happy way, so the extra options for node construction aren't there. Neither does it allow multiple attachments.

cck-imagefield however seems to be pretty limited so far, and according to it's gigantic wishlist, seems lacking a bunch of functionality that image.module already solved. Thumbnails, existing image re-use, granular permissions, custom filenames using tokens and more.

The major difference between these two approaches is the desire to treat attached images as full nodes (image_attach) or to try and avoid doing that (imagefield)
Many of the extensions and extra options that folk want for imagefield are HARD because of that inbuilt limitation.

Sitting off to one side is asset - which is in its own world of file management, and although the management wizard interface is wonderful, it doesn't treat its items like either nodes or fields, so it doesn't play nicely with either approach.

... all this is in the context of the larger, acknowledged Drupal document management problems and initiatives

I find that document/asset/image management works better when there is a node holding it where metadata and extras can be stored. So that Normal Drupal content management can work on them - so that's my preference, although I do appreciate why some folk appreciate the 'simpler' approach of the old 'files' table.

I'd propose an addition/update to image_attach to bring it into the CCK fold. image_attach already plays nice with views - which is great. If there was a way to leverage the existing widget and nodeapi behavior from image_attach into an implimentation of hook_field() and those extra needed bits, I think that would be the best of both worlds.

It'll bring imagefield forward and prevent it being eclipsed by the re-work that's going on around imagefield.

It'll allow multiple attached image nodes.

It'll unify the management of node fields. Currently image_attach does support positioning weighting, but in its own UI, not the content-type 'manage fields' where everything else is migrating to.

It'll (eventually) make the database image_attach table redundant as the linking info will get moved into CCK field management.

I'm not very good with all of the intricacies of field module creation, but I've done one or two so far, and I can see how it COULD be done - but I can't see what the roadblocks to this might be.

Any ideas?