I completely agree about giving in-depth answers. There's nothing I love more than an answer that relies on either a) stuff I know or can do really well; or b) a bucketload of research. Several times I've went back to answers and edited them, even after an answer has already been chosen, because good answers are way more important to me than recognition.
Completely with you on the "thank yous" being the biggest motivating factor; I wouldn't care about the site if it weren't for those. That said, if you want to get your rep up without lowering your standards, one option for the high-traffic tags is to go for bounty questions. That way, if you give good answers, you get a reward which is commensurate with your time/expertise, and you know that the asker both appreciates the complexity of their question and is very keen to have an answer.
Completely with you on the "thank yous" being the biggest motivating factor; I wouldn't care about the site if it weren't for those. That said, if you want to get your rep up without lowering your standards, one option for the high-traffic tags is to go for bounty questions. That way, if you give good answers, you get a reward which is commensurate with your time/expertise, and you know that the asker both appreciates the complexity of their question and is very keen to have an answer.