Thanks, I was going to post a very similar rant.
The "just works" argument IS a valid one and they would have a point -- IF Gnome's defaults were in any way sensible. They aren't. The entire workflow is a nightmare. (I made the apple comparison -- Well, uhh... MacOS is also a walled garden that doesn't let you change shit, but at least it's got very decent defaults)
Gnome's file manager didn't let you type in FOLDER ADDRESSES until a few months ago, ffs. And sure you could, even then, use an alternative file manager.
.... But at that point you are fucking with the premise of "just works", because you will need to use non-default stuff.