Agreed. I flit between different characters across the factions, but Quel'Thalas will always be my spiritual home in WoW.
I think elves like those in the Silver Covenant are often as you describe, but I've got a void elf I'm playing at the moment and I'm musing on a backstory for her that allows her to be a patriot but still bat for the other team (while game mechanics demand it).
Roughly so far, I'm thinking:
- Farstrider who lost her husband in an Amani raid during the Second War
- Couldn't remain in Quel'Thalas because everything reminded her of him (her sister is still there)
- Decided to go to Dalaran to get away from it all and join the city's defences to distract herself
- Third War happens, Quel'Thalas is decimated and Archimonde destroys Dalaran
- She helps with the rebuilding of Dalaran while waiting for news of Quel'Thalas
- Hears her sister is alive and answers Kael'thas' call to return home to reclaim lands lost to the Scourge
- She returns home and is happy to reunite with her sister
- Talk of Silvermoon's leadership joining the Horde drives her away again due to her hatred of the Amani and by extension all trolls and their orcish allies
- She joins the Silver Covenant to keep the Horde out of Dalaran
- Helps SC forces claim Quel'Delar to keep it out of Horde hands, adamant it stays with Thalassians
- stays in Dalaran until the purges, she's horrified by her comrades' actions and refuses to participate
- she hears there is still a community of high elves living at Quel'Danil
- joins them until the Legion invades when she pledges to the Unseen Path
- delighted by Alleria's return, she seeks to join an old commander of the Farstriders
- believes in Alleria's quest to bring Quel'Thalas into the Alliance eventually
- chooses to take up study of the Void to protect Azeroth
- resents Sylvanas dragging Quel'Thalas and Thalassians in the Alliance into another bloody war after the relative peace in the wake of Sargeras' defeat
- helps efforts to track her down after the war
- Shadowlands
It's taken some time to map it all out but I'm quite happy with the motivations. She still loves Quel'Thalas, but can't return until it either severs ties with the orcs and trolls or rejoins the Alliance.