The fact that your RTS equipment continued to work after the signal was switched off doesn't really prove anything. Some installations will have continued to operate normally, depending on how the teleswitch was configured when it last received a signal; others may no longer switch correctly, or be stuck on one register, resulting in incorrect bills and either not heating, or heating permanently one. That uncertainty is precisely why the meters had to be replaced. Obviously, this mainly applies to those with storage heaters. In any case, as I mentioned, your meter is likely so old that it's long overdue for its mandatory replacement.
On smart meters, you're also mixing up several different issues. There have certainly been cases of faulty meters, poor installations, communications failures and suppliers handling disputes badly. Nobody is suggesting otherwise. But a smart meter losing its communications connection is not the same thing as the meter becoming inaccurate. It will normally continue measuring electricity consumption perfectly happily and can be read manually, just like a traditional meter. Genuinely faulty, inaccurate smart meters are almost vanishingly rare, as is the case with traditional meters.
And the claim that smart meters cannot save you money unless you change your habits is simply wrong. A smart meter gives access to tariffs which are not available to people without one. Octopus Tracker is an obvious example: you can use exactly the same amount of electricity, at exactly the same times of day, and still pay less if its daily unit rates are lower than the conventional tariff you would otherwise be on. My parents saved hundreds of pounds on this particular tariff, and made no effort to change their behaviour.
There are also fixed-price tariffs where having, or agreeing to have, a smart meter is a condition of joining. Again, if that tariff is cheaper than the one otherwise available to you, you can save money without changing your consumption by a single kWh.
Then there are time-of-use tariffs where changing when you use electricity can produce further savings, particularly for things like EV charging, batteries, washing machines, dishwashers and immersion heaters. But that's an additional benefit, not the only way a smart meter can save money.
So “smart meters don't save money; consumers have to change their habits” is far too sweeping and, in fact misinformation. A smart meter can save money simply by giving you access to cheaper tariffs. Whether you subsequently choose to change your consumption pattern is a separate question.