Totally agree with basically every point here. You hit the nail on the head. App images are the .exe’s of the Linux world and I don’t understand how someone can say they love app images but hate Window’s portable exe’s. Even Windows doesn’t have nearly as many portable executable as they once did. And when they do, most people (even those who prefer app images) prefer an exe with a Windows installer.
Anyways, this is all to point out why I avoid app images if at all possible