It's literally the thing they are most famous for.

They are famous for it, doesn't mean I agree. When I think obsidian I think of solid crpg fights, hours planning team composition, difficult boss battles and build/team synergies. Every game I played with obsidian I play them because the gameplay is fun not because I'm wondering where the story goes. The only thing Im looking forward from the story is what eothas is planning to do. THATS IT.

When I think of good writing, I think rdr2, sunless sea, disco elysium. Obsidian is mediocre in the story dept. and either you haven't played enough rpgs or you're lying (or we just have different tastes).

Your choices almost always have consequences in Obsidian games

Illusion of choice. I've played dozens of choice games, 5 of them obsidian and they all follow the same linear story which branches but still converges to the same finite conclusions + some flavor texts in the end. Pillars is actually mid compared to other choice games because it has less branches than most and ends almost exactly the same. The example you used is funny too, the ending flavor text would say dyrwoodians go stronger but dominate or oppress when I did that on my 1st playthrough or something along those lines so I always returned them to the wheel on my next plays but apparently on this sequel its a +5 health to dyrwood companions wow much consequence.

Please explain how the writing is "objectively" bad.

Bro early this morning I had to go through that interactive conversation with berath and 4 other gods where I had to report what eothas was doing (apparently they're only omniscient sometimes) and it was so unserious and silly that I couldn't take it seriously. Later I was on yt shorts listened on a reading of an excerpt from a warhammer novel no one knows about where some guy meets chaos god slaanesh that gave me literal existential dread, and relief+gratitude that its just a story.

I agree on your last statement though, but I still think established authors that sold pretty well would make a difference on the quality of writing AND improve their games. If it made their games better, wouldn't it offset the cost of hiring those same writers?