Same with me (DEC). Robert Palmer was no friend to us and certainly couldn't compare to Ken Olson. IIRC, our software services group of 14 was slashed to 4. The worst performers were let go first and received the best severance packages. By the time they got to me, I was happy to go - just to get away from the bad morale. But, plenty of managers had different experiences ($$$). I'll still consider the 12 years at Digital to be the good-old-days. VMS Internals - true bliss.
Gosh I miss DEC. I don't know the smallest percentage of what you guys do, but I do know Digital made some of the best hardware and software I have ever touched. When I came to work for my current employer, we had an all Digital switched ethernet network and a DEC Ultrix MIPS machine of some kind (I can't remember what the model was, and neither can the guy who used to run it!). We got rid of the DEC computer when we no longer used the Lawson payroll software it hosted. Then we were forced to "upgrade" to an all Cisco network infrastructure. It's been a complete nightmare to go from the very reliable DECnet hardware to this fragile, cantakerous Cisco crap.
It's really too bad that the technical prowess of DEC didn't meet up with the marketing and management capabilities of Microsoft.
Instead, we get fantastic marketing of a mediocre product from Microsoft, and the complete failure of Digital, which had all the best of the best in technology. As a computer guy, that fact bugs me often.