>as we don't know and latching on to pet theories, even really smart ones, has never done anyone any good in general

I'd agree that really smart and plausible theories can turn out to be incorrect. But, I'm not sure I'd necessarily agree that plausible guesses aren't doing anyone any good. So long as theory is otherwise healthy (eg: eat vegetables and exercise regularly) then they might be doing some accidental good, and if they turn out to be correct, give people a bit of a head start.