你的问题描述比较零乱，其实根本是如下的问题：

为什么虚拟条件句的现在、过去、将来是以说话人说话时间为基准？

为什么as if从句虚拟式谓语的现在、过去、将来却是以主句谓语的时间为基准？

其实道理很简单：

说话人假设一个与事实相反的条件，然后再以此为基础进行推理时，他自然以他说话的时间为现在。说话时间之前为过去，说话时间之后为将来。这是很好理解的。

as if 从句是方式状语，用来描述主语做某件事时所呈现出来的样子。比如，我们说某人走起路来像个女人。He walks/walked as if he were a woman. as if从句描述主语走路的样子，无论是现在走，还是过去走，走路的样子都是那个样子，和说话人的说话时间无关，而只和走路的时间有关。他可能吃起饭来大嚼大咽像个莽汉，只有走路才像个女人。所以as if从句针对的是主句谓语动作时间。

as if 从句描述的内容可以和主句谓语为同一时间，此时从句谓语用过去时，当谓语动词为be时，不分人称一律用were.

He runs/ran very fast as if a ghost were chasing him.

He talks/talked as if he were a king/as if he knew everything in the world.

He treats/treated me as if I were his son.

as if从句描述的内容可以先于主句谓语时间，此时从句谓语用had done.

His face is/was so pile as if he had seen a ghost.

We talk/talked as if we had known each other for ages.

He looks/looked as if he had just escaped from the prison.

as if从句描述的内容可以后于主句谓语时间，此时从句谓语用would to或were to do.

He looks/looked at his watch as if he would/were to leave.

He opens/opened his mouth as if he would/were to say something.

The wall looks/looked as if it would.were to collapse any moment.

所以，as if从句虚拟语气形式的正确表达应该是：

1 从句动作或状态与主句谓语时间同时，从句谓语用一般过去时或过去进行时，be一律用were;

2 从句动作或状态先于主句谓语时间时，从句谓语用过去完成时或过去完成进行时；

3 从句动作或状态后于主句谓语时间时，从句谓语用would do或were to do。

不应该用现在、过去或将来来描述从句动作或状态的时间，以免误导英语学习者。

以上as if从句动词形式仅限于虚拟语气形式。

至于as if从句可以用陈述语气，不在本次讨论范围。

Much as I would have liked to, I couldn't lend him the money because I simply didn't have that much spare cash.

would like to do= want to do.

英语表示过去未能实现的愿望、计划、意图等时，常过去完成时+to do不定式表示。例如：

I had intended/planned/wanted to help him, but I was too busy.

网友的这个句子中的 I would have liked to 就是这种用法。

Much as I had wanted to, I couldn't lend...

虽然我很想借钱给他，但...

这和网友的问题—— 虚拟条件句与as if从句虚拟语气谓语形式的时间指向无关。