Sorry, totally against an exhaustion system in this game. I mean it is fine in games like XCOM2 where you have a bunch of soldiers to work with when your others become "wounded" or "exhausted", but in this game, with these few companions it would be terrible. Can't say that I ever had an issue of not camping to see the rest scenes. That is a new one. I mean after a few battles, you have to to get your short rests recharged. Not to mention, I was pretty sure they weren't going to make the main character a mindflayer in the first chapter.
In D&D 5e, resting removes exhaustion. In PnP a long rest only removes a single level of exhaustion, but I'd be fine with Larian homebrewing that it removes 2 or all levels. You wouldn't have to go without any companions, because you'd simply rest and everyone would be fighting fit again.
In the post you're quoting, I'm not arguing for an "exhaustion system." I'm arguing for a specific instance of scripted exhaustion that incentives resting for the first time, so that the game ~ensures you get that resting cutscene. Assuming that Larian wasn't "going to make the main character a mindflayer in the first chapter" is a metagaming, not in-game, reason to rest.
And it's not really true that after a few battles you have to get your short rests recharged. With food and scrolls, you can go a very long time before actually needing to rest.