Thank you for writing this. I've been intrigued by Obsidian, and have tried to get enthusiastic about using it a few times. But I can't, mostly for the reasons you state. I'm also cautious about Obsidian's reliance on third-party plug-ins.

I much prefer the Obsidian developers' other app: Dynalist. It hasn't been updated in four years, but works flawlessly. I find it very useful. I wish they'd turn there attention back to Dynalist, and app I have paid for.