I think he answers the question in the title of his article in his summary:

"This is why tripods will maybe never become obsolete for me, even when image stabilization is able to stabilize 20 stops and when we can use ISO 50,000 without any noise. It will always be in my bag, unless I forget it, of course." Which he wrote specifically pointing to the value of a tripod in compositional fine tuning, but which can easily be expanded to include other types of photography.

The simple answer is nope.

https://fstoppers.com/landscapes/have-tripods-become-obsolete-601694

You may be in a small minority when you state that a three pound tripod is "excessive." In fact, a three pound tripod is often considered a travel tripod because it is light and small. And when carefully used with short focal lengths, can be indispensable for reducing camera movement at low shutter speeds, or allowing for partial subject movement (moving water, people/animal blurring to accentuate movement while keeping everything else crisp and sharp). But a three pounder does have some limitations - and those directly impact shooting with longer lenses or at very high magnifications.

In general use, a tripod is very helpful for macro/closeup, long lens use (landscape, wildlife etc), night sky photography, light painting, time lapse, remote operation, in studio use to preserve a particular composition when shooting different subjects (people and or product), etc etc etc. Lots of uses which stabilization and low noise/high ISO can't duplicate.

On the other hand, "ponderously heavy" is a relative term. In the big picture, it would likely be used to describe an aluminum Bogen 3051+3047 pan/tilt head - that would be about 15 lbs. Or an old Gitzo steel and aluminum Studex, or Majestic which would come in around 18 lbs or higher. Somewhere in between the 3 lb travel tripod and these old monsters are the high performance carbon fiber leg sets that come in between 4 lbs and 6 lbs most of which totally outperform the old metal stuff at a fraction of the weight, which is still far short of "ponderously heavy". If you shoot wildlife with long heavy lenses, a tripod simply makes a longer day possible when you consider physical stamina as well as stability when using longer shutter speeds. And while not completely critical with some of the newer lighter long lenses, certainly helpful especially when the shooter has strength and stability issues.

To this point, after acquiring a Sigma Sport 150-600 in hopes of being able to ditch the tripod and heavy (600mmF4) lens I was pleasantly surprised. Below, the first two images show the results of testing with hand holding at ridiculously slow shutter speeds. The cat was at a distance of about 20 ft, and a shutter speed of 1/25 sec, F8 and ISO 400. But this is a special case, since cats cat completely freeze their motion. Had it been a bird, as we way in NY - fuggedaboudit! The second image was of a young heron, taken with a tripod mounted 12mp crop camera, 600mmF4+1.4X TC, F8 1/10 sec, ISO 400. The equivalent focal length was 1260mm. Everything was static, including the bird, with only its right leg in motion. A shot like this would have been impossible, even with today's state of the art sensors and mechanical stabilization and software.

So I mostly agree with Irmler - good shots that would have required a tripod in the past can still be made without one thanks to improved tech and better software. But there are times when I know from experience that current tech cannot be considered substitute for solid support. It doesn't have to be heavy, but it shouldn't be cheap stuff that is no better, and often worse than relying on tech.

As far as your conclusion, you are certainly entitled to it. You may have a different opinion when you've been shooting over 55 yrs - but then again maybe by then we'll have cameras that can shoot at 50,000 ISO and lenses and/or bodies that can offer 20 stops of stabilization.

BTW, do you still hold on to the myth that changing focal lengths alone without changing camera to subject distance changes perspective?

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Christian Irmler, an Austrian landscape photographer and painter has written a thought-provoking piece for Fstoppers in which he argues that the current state-of-the-art in image stabilization and sensor performance at high ISOs may have made tripods obsolete. Fstoppers is an online community and resource which reaches 1.5 million photographers each month.

As he provocatively put it a tripod may have "become a relic from a time with poor technology." (He does acknowledge that a tripod is still necessary for focus stacking and can serve as a useful aid to thoughtful composition.)

Given the frequent (some might go so far as to say obsessive) discussion of tripods on UHH (to which I will plead guilty to some degree) I think the question merits further dialog.

My personal conclusion is that ponderously heavy, stable (and expensive tripods) are no longer the critical tool they once were, and that the still-useful functions of a tripod can be fulfilled by lighter and more portable gear.

Christian Irmler, an Austrian landscape photographer and painter has written a thought-provoking piece for Fstoppers in which he argues that the current state-of-the-art in image stabilization and sensor performance at high ISOs may have made tripods obsolete. Fstoppers is an online community and resource which reaches 1.5 million photographers each month.

As he provocatively put it a tripod may have "become a relic from a time with poor technology." (He does acknowledge that a tripod is still necessary for focus stacking and can serve as a useful aid to thoughtful composition.)

Given the frequent (some might go so far as to say obsessive) discussion of tripods on UHH (to which I will plead guilty to some degree) I think the question merits further dialog.

My personal conclusion is that ponderously heavy, stable (and expensive tripods) are no longer the critical tool they once were, and that the still-useful functions of a tripod can be fulfilled by lighter and more portable gear.

Christian Irmler, an Austrian landscape photographer and painter has written a thought-provoking piece for Fstoppers in which he argues that the current state-of-the-art in image stabilization and sensor performance at high ISOs may have made tripods obsolete. Fstoppers is an online community and resource which reaches 1.5 million photographers each month.

As he provocatively put it a tripod may have "become a relic from a time with poor technology." (He does acknowledge that a tripod is still necessary for focus stacking and can serve as a useful aid to thoughtful composition.)

Given the frequent (some might go so far as to say obsessive) discussion of tripods on UHH (to which I will plead guilty to some degree) I think the question merits further dialog.

My personal conclusion is that ponderously heavy, stable (and expensive tripods) are no longer the critical tool they once were, and that the still-useful functions of a tripod can be fulfilled by lighter and more portable gear.

Christian Irmler, an Austrian landscape photographer and painter has written a thought-provoking piece for Fstoppers in which he argues that the current state-of-the-art in image stabilization and sensor performance at high ISOs may have made tripods obsolete. Fstoppers is an online community and resource which reaches 1.5 million photographers each month.

As he provocatively put it a tripod may have "become a relic from a time with poor technology." (He does acknowledge that a tripod is still necessary for focus stacking and can serve as a useful aid to thoughtful composition.)

Given the frequent (some might go so far as to say obsessive) discussion of tripods on UHH (to which I will plead guilty to some degree) I think the question merits further dialog.

My personal conclusion is that ponderously heavy, stable (and expensive tripods) are no longer the critical tool they once were, and that the still-useful functions of a tripod can be fulfilled by lighter and more portable gear.

Christian Irmler, an Austrian landscape photographer and painter has written a thought-provoking piece for Fstoppers in which he argues that the current state-of-the-art in image stabilization and sensor performance at high ISOs may have made tripods obsolete. Fstoppers is an online community and resource which reaches 1.5 million photographers each month.

As he provocatively put it a tripod may have "become a relic from a time with poor technology." (He does acknowledge that a tripod is still necessary for focus stacking and can serve as a useful aid to thoughtful composition.)

Given the frequent (some might go so far as to say obsessive) discussion of tripods on UHH (to which I will plead guilty to some degree) I think the question merits further dialog.

My personal conclusion is that ponderously heavy, stable (and expensive tripods) are no longer the critical tool they once were, and that the still-useful functions of a tripod can be fulfilled by lighter and more portable gear.

I shot today with my Sonly a7II MILC. Initially with a manual focus FD 500L. There's no way to manage the lens / camera and the focus on the lens with just two hands. I shot from a tripod with a ball head.

Later, I changed to a large field of daffodils in peak bloom. When I changes to the EF 135, a metabones adapter, and the camera IBIS, even while shooting manual exposure and manual focus, I did only need two (2) hands and a knee for support to capture images with no tripod.

I love my tripod. I need my tripod. But, if I can skip the tripod, I will.