IMO, the carry weight limits prevent too much random barrelmancy. You can't realistically carry around more than 3/4 barrels when exploring for the first time. Sure, you can load up on barrels for a particular fight if you've already fought and lost it, but ... well, if you want to play a game with all fun removed, that's your choice.
I guess it also raises a question of how bags of holding are gonna work, then, and whether they are to be implemeted at all.
Ability to "carry" large objects is easy to implement. And I think it's a pretty good solution. Right now barrelmancy feel more like an exploit then game feature.
Having "grapple" as a combat mechanic would be cool. But it's much easier in a make believe. Imagine amount of animations it requires. DnD has hundreads of creature types, and each combination will need its own animation set for initiating, holding, and breaking grapple.
Not necessarily hundreds in BG3's case, given how it doesn't exactly span the entirety of the setting. If we're omitting anything non-humanoid, it shouldn't be that difficult to recycle animations across the same size categories. D:OS2 did have eight different animation sets for playable characters (one for each race and gender) each with their own set of clips for every weapon, skill type, and item usage, for instance, and Larian go out of their way to do wacky stuff like sitting poses for the druid's wild shapes. Plus, we already have ogres throwing crates in combat (albeit without much animation), so here's hoping they are not just a one-off neat detail but a hint at potential development in this area.
