To the OP, I too had the exact question in my mind when I tried benzos for the first couple of times (by the time I tried benzos I had already tried opiates and opioids). I tried my first few times alprazolam, diazepam and lorazepam. Diazepam was ok in small doses but higher doses made me go to sleep and made me feel like you described.
Alprazolam 0.5mg was like a hammer to my head and I would be completly disoriented, stumbling around and slurring my speach worse than with alcohol and not even being aware that I was that badly affected; a lot of confusion so much that I always ended up thinking the best idea was to sleep it off. Also I couldn't wait until the effects were over.
Lorazepam was interesting because it gave me the most intesnse psychedelic (rather than deleriant) experiences of my life especially when combined with weed. IMPORTANT to tell you that at this time my weed tolerence was also VERY small and 1-2 big hits would have me laughing for 3 hours good. However without the weed it was only slightly hallucinogenic and it was more of a relaxant, though a weaker one so I didn't mind it much.
I too, didn't find the 'magic' in the benzodiazepines and I had the most popular benzos too so to say the least I was dissapointed and could never understand how someone could say these drugs are recreational much less people who get addicted to these "non-recreational drugs", is what I was thinking.
Then I tried a 10mg or a 15mg (it was so long ago I can't remeber) of Temazepam and everything changed for me. It was almost like an opiate, I was so extremily comfortable. I didn't think too much of the experience and left it at that.
4-6 years later a good friend like a brother died and I was devastated, I stopped school for a semester, I drank, did a lot of opiates/opioids and eventually ended up like shit having to go in less than 2 months to the methadone clinic (went on 205mg a day too to give you an idea of my use) and my psychiatrist diagnosed me with general anxiety, panick attacks and depression. I didn't take anything for the depression (I refused to take the SSRIs and those type of medications), but for the anxiety I got 2-2mg clonazepams a day and for the first 2 months of teatment 2-0.5mg alprazolam for panick attacks.
Now the alprazolams felt almost the same as they always did and I didn't find them very euphoric or 'good' in any way. But the clonazepam was much better and by itself I would feel euphoric even since it wasn't as strong as alprazolam or diazepam, it was much smoother and longer lasting. I would often take it with methadone and it was so much better (the high), where as with alprazolam when taking it with methadone or any opiate/opioid for that matter it would literally ruin the high, making me too confused and only want to go to sleep it off (also pissing me off for wasting and ruining my oxy high or methadone high). Still nothing like temazepam, it was the closest benzo that touched the euphoria and the smoothness of temazepam.
BTW, I am and was always an opiate/opioid druggy, and opiates/opioids were always my drugs of choice. I found out many times that many benzos would ruin the high when combined with opiates/opioids. I would take benzos like xanax sometimes when I was low on opiates, otherwise I wouldn't take it and even then I would take a 0.5mg in halfs just to potentate opiates. But I found that clonazepam (due to the nature of its effects) goes the best with opiates, and I would always preffered if I had clonazepam to take it with my opiates.
MY ADVICE: I say you should find a benzo that is best for you. If you are looking for EUPHOIRA from benzos, the only benzos that are guarenteed to give you euphoria are: Temazepam (#1) and Nitrazepam (#2) which I have tried and know for sure. Even though other benzos like clonazepam are potentially euphoric, they are mostly euphoric when you actually suffer from anxiety and/or panick attachs OR if you take opiates which are very synergesic (much more so than cannabis is with benzos). The hypnotic benzos are also the most euphoric benzos.
As well most people use benozs to potentate their opiates/opioids, in small doses along with they usual doses of opiates or opioids. Diazepam is one of the more 'euphoric' benzos of the non-hypnotic benzos, though clonazepam is very different from diazepam. I would have to say that the real deal with benzos is in combination with opiates/opioids (taking benzos in small doses, along with their regular opiate/opioid doses), otherwise by themselves they are most euphoric when you #1 Find the right benzo for what you like in downers, #2 You suffer from anixety and/or panick attacks.
If you've had barbiturates like phenobarbital if your in N.A. or others like amo-barbital if you are in Europe than you can compare/apperciate the effects of benzos much better.
If the only concept of 'DOWNERS' that you have is that of opiates/opioids, you will be sadly dissapointed. But if you know that even in barbiturates there are so-so barbs, ok barbs, shitty barbs, and really good barbs, ofcourse though all these rating varying from person to person. I personally don't find phenobarbital euphoric, I do find it a better drug as a muscle relaxer than other drugs I can take as a muscle relaxant (Soma is illegal/not made anymore in Canada), so from that aspect I find it good, but I'm not crazy about it. Amo-barbital feels much, much better and it is euphoric even and a better feeling overall. If you have any experience with barbs, other non-benzo downers (Ambien, Imovane) you can compare the effects between these downers and see the special and unique effects in each of these drugs from each of these drug families.