But they're overall a good thing for us consumers even if we'll never use these models, it forces the prices down all around.

Yeah, I really like and use DSv4Pro for personal projects, but I also use Opus all the time at work and they are definitively not at the same level.

I can only conclude that people who claim they are aren't doing anything close to the edge of what these models are capable of or any niche things.

I would say DSv4Pro is around the same level as Sonnet.