You would have to be very brave to say RAW is superior even though it is....... ..... Just light the fuse and stand back!!!!
P.S. I am glad you are enjoying and exploring the potential of your new camera.
Brian, when I bought my first dslr about 3 years ago, I avoided RAW because I thought it was beyond my processing skills then. After about 6 months, playing around with various settings - Aperture Priority, Programmed, Shutter Priority etc - I wondered why my 20mp camera was only spitting out 4mb jpegs. (I'm a slow learner.) Then I switched the settings to RAW + Jpeg. After the first outing with the new setting, when I compared the jpegs to the RAW files, I said to myself: so that's where the other 16mp went! The difference was immediately noticeable. The RAW files - without any processing from me - obviously had more detail - and more scope for processing. That is my experience; take it for what it is worth.
One of the nice things about being a practicing Buddhist is that it is demanded that I question any teaching before I apply it to my life. Your experience is worth a great deal because it validates that I am moving in the right direction. Not because we agree but because your shots posses much of what I would like in mine.
I shoot RAW because I enjoy shooting that way and enjoy beginning my processing workflow with Adobe Camera RAW. That in itself is plenty reason enough for me to shoot RAW.
When the shots really matter to me, I shoot raw. One thing I really like in addition to the flexibility to tickle out the best the capture can be is that it really pushes me to learn more about all aspects of digital imaging. For me, taking control of the darkroom is just as important as taking control of the camera.
There are various reasons to either shoot raw or jpg. Both have their value and I'm glad I have the choice and some control over in-camera processing when I choose jpg.
The Adobe tool is free, but requires that your editor (Gimp in your case, I believe?) can open Adobe dng format files. I don't know if Gimp can handle that format.
https://www.adobe.com/support/downlo...atform=Windows