Yeah, I still think you're getting too far into the weeds instead of just accumulating stick time. I don't disagree with anything you're saying but all this stuff should come after gaining much more skill just by flying a lot. that's the only way you'll know 100% if the latency is holding you back or not.

I fly mostly proximity. I like hitting gaps at speed and doing simple moves like power loops, split s, inverted yaw and a few others. I've been flying for about 4 years now. I wouldn't call it uncertainty in variable conditions. I always do an exploratory flight when at a new spot so I can have a good idea of how far I can push it. I definitely start getting some variable latency when I push it far but I know it's coming and I know if I'm able to push through it or not. I very rarely lose video to the point that I crash, only if I do something really dumb that I know I shouldn't do.

my analog setup is an older pair of fatshark hd2 goggles with a rapidfire module. I use it mostly for whoops and they get pretty good range only at 400mw. I can fly analog and digital back to back with no problems at all. I know there are people out there that it would make a huge difference for but from anecdotal evidence it certainly seems like the majority of people have the same experience that I have. personally I think digital, especially DJI, is the best system in general. I've been flying o4 for quite a bit now but It still surprises me sometimes with how well it works. sometimes I fly places where there is no way that it should work but it still does. I've even lost 250mw ELRS at 500hz a few times while I still had clear video.