One's goal when studying is to optimize learning as a function of time. When note-taking is forced, this goal becomes impossible for me. I spend time taking notes when I could be spending time on more impactful study techniques (videos, practice sets, etc). To be clear, I think the notion that "notes are useless" only applies to specific groups of people. The bottom line is that everyone learns differently, and forcing a certain approach is an awful idea.
> How have you been disallowed from discovering what works best for you?
I would not say that I have been directly "disallowed," but undeniably, there are bandwidth constraints for students. If I'm taking multiple hard courses, I only have so much time to spend. If I am spending my time note-taking, which my teacher requires to turn in to him/her, then I have less time to do other, more productive things with my time. I think naturally, freedom spurs efficiency. Free and competitive markets are more efficient than command economies. Arguably, this same principle holds true on an individual level.