Great writeup. One advantage true routers have e.g. Edgerouter or Mikrotik are dedicated hardware for IP & TCP header processing. Some can offload AES for VPN encryption. This leads to cooler temps, lower power utilization & longer life.

I encourage everyone to run a hardware router. A cheap dedicated wired router can be had for $50. Run PfSense or the vendor firmware . It’s very rewarding. Also a long term investment since routers tend to last for many years while wifi standards are revised every year or so .