I don't think you have a narrow taste dude. But I wince slightly whenever you use the term 'rock' as a catch-all term for all that is rubbish when, at least for me, it covers such a wide area of music.
Apparently the Healers are doing another album which I heard Marr describe as "more jangly", so it sounds like he's going back to his roots perhaps. I quite like Boomslang. I was pleasantly surprised by JM's lead vocals too, especially after hearing John Squire yowl through his solo songs. Yeeeeeesh.
I don't think PAVP is like Mark Knopfler as a whole - but the solo really reminds me of Dire Straits ;^). Yes, it's not a great song. It proved to be quite ironic as well given the amount of Smiths comps that eventually started popping out all over the place. There's another two coming out even as I type!