I agree with everything you say in your post. Since many people with PMR have to be treated for several years, it makes sense that people with GCA also need to be treated for several years, since many researchers now believe that PMR and GCA are on a spectrum of the same disease.

I just finished my first year on Actemra, and my rheumatologist told me that I'll probably be on it for several more years to protect against relapses.

I strongly prefer Actemra to prednisone due to the lack of side effects for Actemra. I felt like I had completely recovered from prednisone once I got down to 2 mg per day, because I couldn't imagine feeling better. But I stopped prednisone a week ago, and I've been very surprised that my sleep is consistently deeper and longer, plus I'm dreaming much more. So even at 1 mg per day prednisone was affecting my sleep.