I just bought a Juki hzl-f600 has kneelift, thread cutter, auto threader, about $1000.00. I'm loving it.
Had a designer 1 before .

All of these high end machines are beyond my budget ever.

I have a Juki 2000 which is just a straight stitch machine. I have a Janome if I need fancy stitches and whatnot... but I love my Juki. It sews an amazing stitch, can sew through just about anything including thick layers (a lot of other machines can not sew through like 8 layers of denim and if you make bags, that might be important to you) has the knee lift and scissors. The only thing that it's lacking is a tie off stitch but I'm good with that. I know it's a lot cheaper than the Brother you were looking at but it might be exactly what you are looking for - especially if you only need it for piecing.
It also sews really, really, really fast which is great. It's all metal so it's a heavy machine.
I've got friends with high end Berninas who love my Juki. A few of them are planning to get one. You've already got a longarm so I think maybe going this route might be a good way for you. It also has a 9" throat so if you are doing small projects that you don't want to put on the frame, you can easily handle it on the Juki. :)
Save your extra money and go try out a Juki. At under $1000, your extra money can buy a whole lot of supplies...

This is just my opinion-but I think you first need to decide on your top dollar that you are willing or can spend. Then you need to decide on what options you wish to have or feel you need on a machine. Next go try out all the different makes of machines within that budget. Find the one that feels the best to you that has the options that you want. We all have great machines, but my Janome 7700 may not feel good to someone else & visa versa. I could not live without a thread cutter or the knee lift which my machine has. All the other fancy stuff is just icing on the cake so to speak.
You said you already have a longarm so harp space isn't important, well I also have a longarm and my 7700 has 11" harp space. That is one of the wonderful features I love about it. It gives me freedom to move things around and I also keep my tweezers & small scissors right inside my harp space so I don't have to look for them. They are always within reach. Just because we all love our machines, doesn't mean that you would. Don't just buy a model because a few or many say it's a wonderful machine, it maybe to them, but might not to you. TRY OUT MANY BEFORE BUYING!!!!!

I bought a Dreammaker Innov'iv Ve2000 embroidery only , The one that sews and embroideries is what I should have gotten. so I could use it more than embroidery, even though I have another machine to sew and do some quilting on.
I have found that Brother's machines serve me well, also have my singers.

Why would you not upgrade with a new Bernina. There are several new Berninas that are not so expensive and have all the new features. Do you have a local Bernina dealer. If so, please check them out. Nothing sews like a Bernina!

I had a Bernina 440 which I loved. Traded it in on Bernina 730 which is a nice machine and has an embrodary attachment. But I wish I could have afforded to keep the 440 it was a work horse. The 730 is a little more tempermental.

Before I bought a Viking, I listed all of the features I really wanted in my machine. Then I did comparisons online with all the major machines. The Viking does exactly what I need and I am thrilled with it. Took a lot of homework, but I was happy as a lark

I have a Bernina QE (something or other). Love it for the zig-zag, knee lift, and ability to reposition the needle. It is sad to say that I have not discovered 1/10th of what it can do and I have had it over 10 years. I only wish it had a deeper throat for quilting

what is a pen, that you are talking about? thanks...