Hi Wobbly, welcome to the site! I'm also a Brit. So glad to see how you escaped the cult and have a proper united family. Well done!
Your comparison with Mormonism is apt, they are a nutty cult like JWs are. This matter of "signalling virtue" within the congregation is practised to a fine degree at the Kingdom Hell as well as in Mormon temples. The idea is to get other members to believe you are a gung-ho super zealous believer and that way you get to climb the hierarchy ladder. The higher you go the more respect you get!
The new dimension in Watchtowerland is total faith in the sacred mystery of the divine appointment of the JW org, not belief in the Bible or Big J or Jesus... what you need to do to get noticed is to agree with the decisions of the GB "Whether they make sense or not".
Mindless loyalty is all you have to show...........
Loved the Laura incident Pete Zahut!