Hello Papertrail,
I didn't really go away from HT. I ultimately moved toward a separate 2ch music-only system in another room. The receiver-based system remains, with exceptional digital front end and sans the 2ch pre and amp. For me here in this reduced HT system, garbage in/garbage out rules the day. Speakers have come and gone. I have settled on using the sat/sub system that I purchased when I got the HT receiver. It's just ok, good enough for cable tv and a movie once in a while. The system is not able to bloom the movie score like it did with the 2ch components, but it is simply not a priority for me. The last few years have been devoted to the assembly of my main 2ch system, which is where the music lives.
From my point of view, I don't know about your HK and Polks but it should be adequate for HT. Does it make music for you? If it doesn't you may have to take a path similar to mine or move to other multi-channel processing equipment that meets all of your needs.
Good luck and enjoy!