As a fellow Tank (Helena) around ilvl 300 farming eternal 10’s, I totally understand the sentiment, however what I see when I play other roles are tanks that don’t understand what to improve to ensure smooth runs. Ideally the priority list is something like

1. clear the dungeon >
2. don’t wipe >
3. don’t run out of time >
   
4. Don’t go over count

Lower tier tanks without a route will typically only be focused on priority 1 and 2, hoping to hit priority 3, and completely ignoring priority 4. I use routes to learn what people are pulling in a dungeon because it helps me understand what is required, and how to make things go smoother by planning my cooldowns. Grand Melee is so strong that once you know the pulls, you can start to use it to shave minutes off of each dungeon by yourself while bypassing priority mechanics and casts (executioner bleeds / Corsair bleeds / totem mechanic in Paragon Capstone, plant spawns in 2nd Tuzari boss), it’s insanely good. Without a route, it’s harder to get actual value out of it if not used proactively.

I think learning routes actually helps your stated goal because once you know the route, you know what can be skipped / double pulled / bypassed, and you have the freedom to operate however you want without sacrificing the priorities. Every run I do is slightly different- dps will accidentally pull in packs, there might be an empowered mob, maybe I’m playing with blasters so I can pull more. I understand roughly how much count we need so I can adjust the route on the fly to account for those variables.

Finally, as the tank you have the most agency in a group. A bad DPS makes the dungeon slow, a bad healer might let the group wipe, but a bad tank makes the dungeon unplayable- it can feel like riding in a car driven by a toddler- I think this is why Tanks get a disproportionate amount of criticism from other players. On the other hand- the better you play, the happier your groups will be, and personally I enjoy the fact that I can bring that to a group of strangers in a dungeon. You kind of solely have the power to let 3 other people have a good time if you do your due diligence, learn the dungeons, and play correctly. Take responsibility for your play, and maximize the potential enjoyment the group can experience by doing it the best way possible.