What I really don't like about thread/matter is that it is becoming the de-facto standard that thread border routers are connected to the internet.

This will in time result in IoT devices that actually mandate this connection (it was already stipulated in a recent version of the protocol). The end result will be that a new protocol was created, but rather than devices being able to run on their own, we end up with beds in heating mode, ie. the garbage we were trying to avoid in the first place.

So for me, zigbee it is!