You can get that exact same experience with Zigbee/z-wave smart switches. I have 74 of them in my house (replaced them all when I moved in) and haven’t had to think about them past that. They work by flipping the switch, they work by voice (Alexa), and via HA and anything that can talk to HA.

If HA goes down I can just walk over and use the switch. A downgrade over yelling into the air for sure but my downgrade is your daily experience.

If someone comes over that doesn’t know how or doesn’t want to use the smart speakers, they can just walk over and flip a switch.

After moving HA off a Pi I found it to be rock solid and I don’t think about it at all unless I want to make or tweak some automation or I get a new device. Adding Claude into the mix for creating/modifying automations is awesome.