I had a similar experience just recently - my honing clearly went up a rung, judging by the arm hair test (really popping!), but I was still getting shaves just like you describe.

Today I got another good edge off the hones, and tried it without stropping at all - and it was a sharper and more comfortable shave than any I've had off my own edges. So the good news is that my honing is better than I thought. The bad news is that my stropping is dulling my edges.

Might not be the same in your case, but worth considering?