Of course, the outcry of 'Baldur's Gate did it this way' has come through loud and clear.

I suggest people actually replay Baldur's Gate 1 or 2. You'll very quickly realize that there are no stat checks, for example, and very few things actually 'gated' behind your mental stats. The problem with comparing BG3's system to its two predecessors is that very few people actually understand how BG1 and 2 worked. In general, they certainly weren't as stringent as making you 'play by the rules' as BG3 is.