Use what works for you and makes bicycle riding a joy. I found just raising the drop bars up to the level of the seat (or just above) was what I needed to make them comfy. I also put on a slightly wider drop bar (46cm, kind of hard to find) helped improve control I tried flats on my touring bicycle, but found I much prefer drops for the variety of hand positions and the slightly aero position when pedaling into a headwind. And like you I got rid of the brifters; I went with old style non-aero brake levers and bar-end shifters (one bicycle has downtube friction shifters).