The case for double or triple front rings is fairly simple. The bulk of the weight is already invested in the cassette and RD, so with all that in, leveraging it for wider gearing, with a 2nd ring and FD, is a comparative bargain, in terms of weight and cost.

I'm convinced that many riders, would fare better with a smaller jump up front, than the typical 14t 39/53 or 36/50 compact drive. Given that cassettes almost all start at 11 or 12t, I'd prefer something like 38/46 or 40/48 up front. so the gear ranges had good overlap, and when the math is right, pack lots of closely spaced combinations in the mid range that I use on level to slight inclines.

I'm reconciled to stock cassettes, since specials a re a problem in Hyperglide (by any name), but still use classic non-gated chainrings so I can set the interval to exactly what I want.