Very cool story, and I am glad you are in a place that will best feed your desire and talent. Many good instructors have come out of the franchises after years of training. My instructor was with them for many years in his youth, but he now works for a private studio and explains the differences. Basically, the franchise studios have a system for keeping you interested, but also not allowing you to advance too quickly. You can learn a lot, but in a longer period of time. But many of them do have terrific instructors. Many very knowledgeable posters on this site have either gone through the studio ranks or remain associated in some fashion, and they know far more than I do about how the studios have evolved. The bottom line is finding what works for you. It appears you have done that.