Moving account seems hella scary, I'm somewhat tempted since I'd kinda would like my actual handle/account name to be the same as everywhere else on the internet after I 'rebranded' a while back.

It is, but over the long term is much better imho, early you make the switch, early you reap the benefits.

I was worried about grinding the witness ranks again on a new account but then again.. I don't really need to change the witness account as such so maybe I could shift accounts.

You can always use a different account exclusively for the witness node. That's how I do it myself. In that case the ideal is to let your actual account as the witness and start creating the new content on the other.

Over time your fanbase will notice, and you'll filter a lot of old accounts too.

If I can help you in any way/advise you on the process, you can also contact me on Discord if you want. Oh, and I still need to vote for your witness (I don't have the my active key handy right now).

cheers sir!