"I’ve yet to hear a strong argument on why Ethereum Classic should exist but I’d like to hear one if it's out there."
Immutability. A simple word, but yet so powerful. While ETH is out looking to partner with biggest bank and favor the winners, ETC stays true to the core philosophy. Once again ETH favored another winner by integrating coinbase in the latest mist update without consolidating with other providers. It's a strange behavior for a non-profit foundation. Ethereum Classic is the original chain and got all the right in the world to exist. Playing god, saying what's to live and what's die is a dangerous game, and similar to the special interest game the Ethereum foundation is currently playing.
In the early days of a blockchains creation, immutability is just one consideration. I would argue that it should not be the only consideration. I actually was not supportive of the hard fork but at the end of the day the consensus decision was made. The innovators should be supported moving forward.
Indeed, by any means should this be the only consideration. For some however this is a requirement that has to be met. You have made some really good points in your post with the major developer supporting the hard fork, and some currently develop exclusively for the hard forked ETH.
However, saying that a consensus was reach is not really the truth. 5% of all coins voted, the voting time was severely limited, and most of the votes came form big holders.
I hear you. I'm not really arguing about the conditions though, just the best path forward given the conditions.