Like you I've started playing PES again this year having gone over to FIFA for the last few years. We've both got FIFA11, as we've discussed it over on the FIFA forum, and I totally agree with what you say. I've only just started giving PES2011 a proper go, and it's really refreshing to play.
Don't get me wrong, at first I really disliked it, but people on here said to persevere and they may have been right. Suddenly something has just 'clicked' with this game. I'm no longer trying to play it like I've gotten used to playing FIFA.
But I totally agree with the comments on FIFA and the laughable physicality of the game. I loved '09 but feel they've totally ruined the game with the addition of the jostle, physical challenges. It's turned into rugby, players hounding you over the whole pitch. It's there in FIFA11, and it's not fun to play with. I loved that game at first but since then I haven't touched it for about 2 weeks now.
Anyways, back to PES, and I love the new defending system. It's not perfect, switching seems a major issue, but imo way better than FIFA's basic methods.
I also love how you can keep possession in a more realistic fashion in PES. You can actually take players on with the likes of Nani and be sure their abilities will allow you to beat the defender - no superhuman AI defending antics here (as are in FIFA), and that's great.
I'm gradually getting the hang of shooting, I've noticed that low shots seem easier if you have the space to tap R1 to push the ball out from under your feet and give your player time to lean into the shot. They get more purchase on the ball and can control it more, meaning a light tap will actually go low. Do the same with the ball tight to the body, or at a funny angle, and the shot will float and sit up. Holding R2 immediately after you press the shoot button does a kind of FIFA style finesse shot which again, is quality for keeping shots low and more controlled, but again they will depend on body position. FIFA just doesn't compensate for this, you can tap in low shots at angles not necessarily realistic. PES makes you work harder, and shots, and goals, seem more random somehow just like PES on the PS3. It's odd using R2 AFTER tapping shoot, as FIFA makes you hold R2 before, but again it's all part of getting away from the way FIFA played.
For me it's all about reconditioning myself not to play like I did in FIFA. I can now stop the ball completely and stand still looking for options, comfortable in the knowledge that if a challenge comes in, I have the option to close dribble out of trouble without rampaging superman defenders forearm smashing you off the ball. I can now cross by pulling away from the direction of the ball and float the cross. I can now try and take players on with the right players, something you can't do in FIFA. If you're Ronaldo vs Puyol, you can beat him for pace without him magically being able to run quicker than you. The best players however are awesome in that they're better than the rest, but they cannot run 60 yards with the ball like they could in older versions.
All in all I'm now loving PES, I'm still on Regular difficulty because I'm re-learning from scratch, but it's so far been awesome