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The qualities that are most appreciated by professionals within the sport are not the same ones that are appreciated by the fans, it seems to me. Schumacher undoubtedly has excellent speed - but more importantly he has the ability to keep up that speed for a full race distance (a very rare skill), and for an entire season (even rarer). Attributes such as even temprament, consistency, scientific understanding and application are essential in F1 and it's entirely feasible that a naturally quick driver may not make it at the highest level if he fared less well in these departments. Ross Brawn has often praised Schumacher for being able to drive "in the background" of his mind - for example he hs said that you'd never imagine from his tone of voice that he was racing at all, he is that relaxed in the car.
I used to love Keke Rosberg for his flamboyant style and fantastic hard-charging talent - but I remember reading often that he was next to useless for developing the car because he wouldn't work methodically and carefully.
Mansell was another of my faves - he succeeded with sheer grit above all else.
I personally think that the driving standards are now so high that any driver without an almost perfect all-round make-up is unlikely to be WDC. I think this is the reason that the current number one continues to succeed - some of the race-craft of Prost, with some of the one-lap speed of Senna, with some of the bloody-minded aggression of Mansell... you get the idea.
As far as the mind goes - yes, I think the men from the boys criteria at the highest level is mental.
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