This is all pretty much exactly why freedesktop.org (formerly XDG) was formed.

n+1 standards and all that, but the major specs have been adopted by every DE that I'm aware of.

As to when it will all filter down to distros to split out unnecessary package dependencies, I have no idea. I'm not familiar with a whole lot of packaging systems, but AFAIK there is no package installer which can mirror the compile-time --enable-feature and --disable-feature behaviour of configure scripts such that you only draw in packages dependencies based on the optional features you select, and don't end up installing pulseaudio because you wanted a lightweight notepad-like text editor (for a made-up example).

FTA:

I have no such optoelectronics experience, but I am as skeptical and cynical as the next guy and curious about where the "pay-for-play" aspect comes in.

Out of curiosity, what exactly needs updating if it already meets all your requirements?

I've seen that name before.

The state of California has about 12% of the country's population. Not quite the same thing as a "vast majority".