I love them to an extent. There should be some sort of request API available for temporarily disabling the more stringent media restrictions for a session.

I worked on a media heavy fashion site a few years ago and dealing with Safari not allowing you to dynamically add new audio/video elements with auto play (or to auto play at all in low battery mode) was a real headache. By default it’s great, just offer the option to get permission for experiences that require it.