When I started "studying" with JWs at age 26, I knew, and my parents discerned, that I was doing it in order to react to my catholic upbringing which had left bitter memories, having had to live in boarding schools in tender years when I needed my parents, confronted there with some mentally or physically brutal members of religious catholic orders.
Also, I thought, and still think that, somehow, a religion that puts its teaching in words and sentences accessible to simple people must have God's approval, even if it is not the only necessary condition, whereas catholic mysteries are indigestible.
Third, after having met on a weekly basis with a JW in France without attending even one meeting in 18 months, I landed on my own in London and, after diverse types of experiences, I came to the conclusion that I couldn't associate with better people than JWs.
When I was an active witness, I never adhered to their fancy teachings about modern days fulfilment of prophecies but I thought that since God was allowing a people to wear His name, He was engaging His repute in the entreprise and therefore must have backed this organization, lest He would make it impossible for any future organization to exploit the same religious niche as this one if the latter were found false.