Interesting piece. What I'd add is that the use of those phrases, or lack thereof, depends on the context. To me/for me, trust me, from experience et al, have a place in colloquially written life and style magazines/supplements columns. It makes the reader feels closer to the writer. Unsurprisingly the tone in these articles sound more like spoken interchanges than written assignments.

I make an exception with "the thing is". Replace that with "the issue is" or "the problem is" and your vocabulary (as well as your reader) will thank you. :