I would recommend the Retina Macbook for 999$ at bestbuy. No matter how Apple sells it, ipads are a media consumption tools at best - you can not seriously get anything meaningful (keyword) done with them - I will get flamed for this. I understand that you are well versed with the iPad, but ask yourself, can you honestly compare the browsing/tab switching experience, let alone working on in a database environment from a true x64 machine? Can you switch between Firefox/Chrome/Safari in and out of pages in matter of seconds? There is a reason why ipad sales are plummeting, people have gotten over the fad - if you want to bring efficiency in your life/work get a proper mac/pc.
iPads (Pro/Not Pro) offers the same amount of efficiency as an iPhone. Do recall how Phil Schiller never bothered to mention how many iPad Pro's were sold. It's great to keep my 7yr old busy.
Debating which I should get - can save a little money by going with the iPad with the smart keyboard cover - but will it really do everything I need? Don't have to do anything with specific programs - use Pages/Numbers/Keynote currently and don't see any need for other programs in the near future. Do use web extensively - database website queries etc. I've had an iPad for years so very comfortable with them. Any advice suggestions? And if I do go with Macbook Air - would probably wait a month or so to see if they do come out with a refresh.