I think it would be a good move to split this thread, for the sake of keeping it clean and also out of respect for the tragedy that triggered this discussion.
Reading this thread I kept getting flashbacks of the video of Mikhail Farikh covering up one instrument after the other in IMC in an R44. The guy that died in IMC CFIT in 2016, two years after posting that video.
One thought from my side: I'm suprised that nobody has yet mentioned things like EIR, CbIR and EASA vs FAA politics on SE-IFR.