Macros do reduce the surface area for mistakes, by removing redundant expressions that can be typoed. Say, you cannot forget to close a file if you use WITH-OPEN-FILE, but you can if you call OPEN and CLOSE yourself. There are other ways to not leak resources, but macros are just another way to not repeat oneself.

> But the main argument is that Lisp is hyperproductive if you’re an individual brain genius who’s memorized every emacs key combo.

I certainly haven't, though I suspect this is a bit of an exaggeration.