and I actually think Aikido gives you very valuable skills much quicker than it's given credit for if you can convince people not to go technique hunting
I agree with this, but I'm curious what skills you feel they are. I would imagine you are talking about standing evasion (entering and turning) to get to superior position (and remain a more difficult target), practicing the choice to do less than maximum damage, learning to take a great deal of impact by getting smashed on the ground repeatedly, a healthy respect for how ridiculously ineffective surface level understanding of technique is, maintaining full body-resistivity especially in a situation where you have _almost_ lost your balance, etc. What are you thinking is valuable?
I think growing towards the intermediate stages of aikido and BJJ people (advanced beginners being sandan in aikido what in BJJ brown belt?!) the mind/body unification thing is probably similar enough. I always wonder if BJJ goes where aikido can eventually go in terms of much more sophisticated body skills.
I know there is a level of body movement sophistication in both arts up to a point - and up to that point I can see why people want to say they are so similar. I always wonder if given the degree of "checking to make sure it works" in BJJ, if those folks don't put a cap on their development of body movement sophistication - simply because it's good enough (a zillion times better than someone with a few years in BJJ and a bajillion times better than a total doofus) to remain effective, and easier to focus on learning more and more new patterns to stay ahead (or at least with) the other people in that system rather than giving up effectiveness for a while to develop sophistication further. I don't know. It might just be that the world will never know.