How is this an insanely common task? I literally never have to dink with $PATH on Linux, and only rarely on Mac because homewbrew has decided that certain executables shouldn’t be linked in by default.

I think the reason you are getting pushback is that you’ve proposed a complex replacement to a simple existing solution which basically just isn’t a problem. Most developers become allergic to complexity over time, hence the response.

It sounds like your actual problem is with the homebrew project, not with $PATH.