You also need to take into account the cost of the faucet. A lot of freestanding tubs reguire a floor mounted faucet, and they are very pricey. But I'm like you - love my baths and love the look of a freestanding, so I will try to get one that allows the faucet to be deck mounted and hopefully the savings from eliminating the tub decking/surround will make it cost effective.

Jacuzzi made our son's bathtub which is an air jet tub with a built in arm and back rest. It's actually not badly priced around $700. I added a little thing that recirculates hot air into the tub so that it stays warm longer. This is a construction photo, but you can sort of see the shape:

I think it depends on how you live and if you're planning for resale. I am a bath person and chose an insert so that I could have an air jetted tub, have room for candles, bath salts, etc. and for ease of cleaning around it. I was told that it can sometimes be difficult to clean around free standing tubs, especially in a smaller space. Also, we wanted a larger one as my husband enjoys it after a long day of cycling. The tub insert may not be the rage right now but it functions best for us.

I agree getting in and out of a free standing tub is trully a PITA and if you did not bath before you won't now either. As for the tile sorry but honestly no matter what you choose it will always look like an add on. I agree to either leave the tub or prepare to do the whole floor . If you post a plan of the space done to scale maybe some ideas will pop up.