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It seems like yt-dl should move that functionality into a plug-in, so that maybe it can be fully supported but kept at an arm's length.

Changing something at this point feels like an admission of guilt. I can't imagine a better case for de minimis use than this.

Part of the value of youtube-dl is that its reliable. If it randomly didn't work on some URLs it would make it much less useful.

Moreover, there would be a risk that unethical actors would exploit the URLs that don't work in order to conduct unarchivable fraud.

It's not very reliable because it can't be, any of the sites can change on any particular day, but they really try their best.