Also, I may have not phrased my OP correctly: I don't think the quality of search has declined on Kagi. I just think that I pay U$10 per month for a service (search) that I don't see getting the improvements that other areas of the site are getting. Like I said in the OP, I'm not angry or anything, if that's the way Kagi wants to go, I wish you lots of success, but it's definitely not what I signed up for.
I just wanted to give this feedback that search is being left behind. If you think it's not worth investing in it anymore, that's fine!