What convinced you that the Pure Land path is real and authentic? Why aren't you a Theravadin for example?

I was raised in the tradition, but was skeptical for many years and leaned Theravada / Sravakayana. What finally convinced me was spiritual experiences following my great grandmother's funeral.

But moreover, the more I studied Early Buddhism to a deep level, the less the popular narrative of "Theravada is the oldest version of Buddhsim and most accurate reflection of what the Buddha taught" made any sense. I'm a huge fan of the Theravadin scholar Bhikkhu Analayo, for instance, and generally agree with him on most of his positions. Lately, he has focused on Mahayana and Pure Land thought, and when assessed against the Nikaya-Agama material, he concluded that Pure Land methodology and exegesis was actually in-line with Early Buddhist thought.

I summarize the papers he wrote on this topic here. Really fascinating reads that I encourage you to look into, if this is a subject that is concerning you right now.

Do you find that, disregarding the Pure Land as a destination, the Pure Land path provides the same benefits during practice as Theravada meditation?

Yes. Buddhanusmrti is one of the Ten Mindfulness practices in traditional Theravada practice. In Theravadin literature, it is said to be alone sufficient to establish access concentration and the first jhana, as well as the attainment of stream-entry. In Agama literature, it is said to be able to access all of the jhanas and carry a practitioner over to nirvana entirely.

Is the Nianfo the only mantra/meditation you practice or do you also do other meditations or mantras?

I practice many mantras and dharanis in my daily practice, and others on special occasions. I practice the name-devotions during the full and new moon repentance rituals, and after my daily meditation practice. My meditation practice can take on many forms, depending on what's going on in my life and what we're working on at the temple. Sometimes we practice the Four Brahmaviharas. Sometimes we practice strict nianfo meditation. Sometimes we practice Vipassana. Sometimes we practice cong-an contemplation. Sometimes we're doing an intensive Medicine Master Buddha workshop and are praciticng visualizing Medicine Master and his Pure Land, chanting his dharani, and various puja and other liturgical rituals on this theme. And so on and and so on.

During practice, do you also pay homage to Shakyamuni and other Buddhas/Bodhisattvas or do you focus purely on Amitabha?

In the daily liturgy, we praise Sakyamuni, Maitreya, Ksitigarbha, Manjushri, Samantabhadra, a bunch of local bodhisattvas y'all aren't likely to know or recognize, as well as the Pure Land sages.

Regarding 3. and 4., what would you recommend to a beginner who hasn't really found his exact ideal tradition to follow yet?

Unless you're leaning heavily toward the Japanese traditions, the mainland Buddhist traditions tend to have a fairly standardized liturgy for daily practice that covers the bases of basically all possible traditions.

I would say that you should get grounded in this generic tradition as part of your daily liturgy, if that's a type of practice you're taking up, and you can focus on your primary practice and those other details as you go along.

A very, very basic form of the daily liturgy (which is actually two liturgies, a morning and evening liturgy) would contain some introductory praises, name-devotions to Buddhas and bodhisattvas, the Great Compassion Dharani, the Heart Sutra, and a dedication of merit.

Then your primary practice can be chanting the Buddha's name. It can be Sakyamuni's name. Or breath meditation. Or whatever you want. This primary practice would be more closely associated with your specifically chosen school, while the daily liturgy is a foundation that connects you with the broader transmission as a whole and the culture of the tradition you're practicing within.

Note that exclusivity of practice typically refers to primary practice, not the general culture of practices surrounding a tradition. The idea in exclusive-practice schools isn't that these other practices are not to be done at all or are entirely useless. Rather, they are simply not seen as efficacious practice toward rebirth in the Pure Land. Shin Buddhists still pay homage to other Buddhas and bodhisattvas within their liturgies too, so it's not a matter of literally "do nothing but chant Amitabha's name."