(casts Animate Dead on the thread)
Hey Spectrum, I have been playing PFS for a few years now and can where your concerns are coming from.
Addressing the Pay-to-Win concern, you don't have to buy anything you don't want to other than the Core Rule Book. You can make a perfectly effective character using those options alone, and in fact there is a mode of play called the "Core Campaign," where only core options, the Guide to Organized Play, and the character traits web enhancement, found
here or
here. That being said, if you do want to use character options from other sources, you will need to buy the source that it is from. I personally have not bought very many books and don't feel like my characters are hamstrung or that they hinder the party in any way (other than my Bramble Brewer who makes a 25ft area difficult terrain on occasion, but that's a different question entirely).
As to the "roll play vs roleplay," you're going to get a mixed bag, unfortunately. The group that I usually play with do much more roleplay than roll play, but at conventions I have run into a number of the roll play crowd. As with all RPG groups, you will have a mixed bag as to what sort of players you are going to find, but it will have more turnover in play styles than in a regular group, unless you have with a regular group that you play PFS with, as I do. Admittedly, the scenarios are written to be played in a 4-5 hour slot, so in many scenarios you won't have the time to interact with a favored NPC as much as one may like unless the group has more time to burn (and is willing to), but there are others where roleplay is highly encouraged, or in fact necessary (I can think of at least one wedding, a dinner party, an infiltration into a Chelish embassy, and an auction). So as the saying goes, "expect table variation."
I personally have found PFS to be very rewarding, being that I am able to take my characters anywhere that PFS is being played around the world and still be able to play with people and not having to worry about navigating the houserules that change from table to table, and it has been much easier on me than running a traditional campaign, as it is difficult for me to get people together to play on a regular basis, so the scenario structure has made my play fulfilling. The campaign definitely isn't for everyone, but I would give it a chance before you write it off entirely. After all, it'll only cost you a CRB (which now comes in a cheaper, lighter, paperback pocket edition) and 5 hours of your time.