I personally never found the chain system an issue as I played countless of games across the decades that had this chaining system and I never really thought it's limiting me from accomplishing whatever I wanted. From Dungeon Siege II to Dragon Age, Star Wars: KOTOR I & 2 to plenty of other games along the way and until recently, the Divinity Original Sin games and Baldur's Gate 3. To me party members following the main character feels immersive and adventurous as it makes the main character feel like an actual leader and makes companions feel lively by following behind. Not to mention that characters feel like they have individuality, as opposed to grouped movement where it's more like an entity.
With Divinity Original Sin 2 and Baldur's Gate 3, if I want my party to stay put or simply position them somewhere individually, I just press "G" and unchain them. So I honestly never felt like this chain system is making it impossible for me to do something strategically in the games that I played.
For me grouped movement is alright in games where characters aren't really as fleshed out in personalities and background stories, so I don't really care to sacrifice that individuality for grouped efficiency. But in games like these, I am perfectly alright with fleshed out characters following the main character to give them more life and soul.
