Even though I have had my IFR ticket for 2 years, every flight feels
like my first :-)

Perfectly understandable. Unless you fly profesionally, it takes
quite a long time years-wise to have encountered and digested most
types of situations.

I fly the approaches in this area over and over again with students,
so these approaches are more mine than the controller's. I'm used to
telling them how I want to fly them.

I doubt the controller even noticed that you didn't descend to the
altitude he gave you, or he would have said something.