I thought about John Romero but from i've read his (game) design sensibilities/taste wasn't quite the equivalent of Carmack's technical chops.

Yeap, I think that the two of them were the "dream team".

His interviews after he received the gdc lifetime achievement award suggest otherwise.

Really? Interesting. I haven't kept up.

That's... Well, that's ironic. I wonder why he decided to pursue gamedev with more passion than rocketdev?

He actually said that "there is more opportunity for technical innovation [...] in gaming than practically anywhere else I can imagine". A modern game like Rage can stimulate one's intellect for a very long time.

http://www.mytweetdreams.com/learning-twitter/inside-gaming-...