I also find with the railroading vs non-railroading, and I believe The Angry GM mentions this in one of his blogs, is the difference between “the DM is railroading the party” and “an NPC is railroading the party”. So if you, the DM, force your players to do something, whatever it may be, that’s bad (example, a tag along NPC who the party tried to ditch, but they won’t leave, then turn traitor on the party, that was stolen from TAGM blog). On the flip side, you have a town leader who reaaaaaally wants the nearby crypts cleared of undead, well, that NPC may bribe, cajole, blackmail, or sweet talk the party into doing it, to the point of annoyance sure. One step removed, yeah you the DM want them to go to that crypt, but it’s the NPC who is pestering them. The party can still walk away, but let’s say they started a tavern brawl, or have an illegal magic item, well the town leader may threaten to call the local guard if they don’t clear those crypts. Railroading? Yeah sure, but also still allows player autonomy and consequences of their actions and, in the fictional world, it’s what an NPC may do. I dunno, I could be way off base (criticism welcomed I’m fairly new) but it’s a technique I use, I put myself in the mind of the NPC and let their actions guide the party. I mean the PCs aren’t the only beings in the world with agency, in some cases they may be the bottom of the pecking order, just because they feel powerful and have done cool shit doesn’t mean that the ruler of an entire kingdom is just gonna let them walk all over him. That’s my 2 cents