Here’s the thing, your take on bip 444 is absolutely correct. It is a horrendous bip that is so nonsensical it seems almost satire.
However, Core v30 is the weakest release in a long time, showing a clear disregard for the many users who object to having their nodes used as cloud storage without consent. Suggesting “just don’t upgrade” is a poor argument, since essential bug fixes and compatibility with other interfaces depend on staying reasonably up to date.
Either way - love your show, it’s my new favourite Bitcoin podcast. Keep it up!