As for not having as much loyalty, notice that most of the posters are candidates and SNA's - its a pretty even break among those who have their wings.
Feel for a helo squadron? I don't know as much about Navy helo squadrons but Marine helo squadrons are pretty tight - its a good time. You will be doing real world missions - as for the fighter boys, how many air to air engagements have we had in the last 10 years, 20 years, 30 years.......Even Vietnam was called "The First Helicopter War."
Knowing what I do now, yes, I would go back and pick the same thing: Helicopters (either 46's or 53E's on the East Coast - the deployments were more fun) After you have moved past your company grade ranks, you will be off doing staff work and such, it doesn't matter if you were a helo bubba or a jet jock.
Transition to the civilian world? Helo jobs are getting better and the airlines are getting worse. I wouldn't recommend either one in today's market. Get your MBA while Tuition Assistance is paying for it, make a bundle of money, and buy your own Pitts and an autogyro to fly for fun.
Two things to think about:
1st) is that if you go helos, you can always come back to Whiting as an IP and scream around the sky doing acrobatics in the T-34 (or the new T-6). If you go jets, you are trapped in fixed wing.
2nd) take a good look at what you like about flying. Do you really LOVE TO FLY? or Do you really LOVE THE CHALLENGE? If you are in the former, you will love being a pilot; if you are in the latter (like me), you get bored after years of flying and need variety in your assignments.
Best of Luck on your choice and let us all know what you picked.
PS: and to follow up on that football analogy: there are 2 of us in here at EUCOM working on Saturday - A Marine F-18 bubba (running back) and me (an offensive lineman). Stereotypes holding true.......