I feel like in Linux distributions, there's some default, and when questioning this default, the answer is "well your use-case is different".

After like 15 years with Linux, my personal conclusion is that the default very often makes no sense for any use case.

Would it make sense to split configuration from the software package itself and provide profile packages with sane defaults for servers, desktop and laptops?

This does make a lot of sense. A simple toggle during installation can make it much simpler for users. All the tools are available, but setting it up and configuring to a specific use case usually requires jumping through some hoops.

Solid article, never heared of throttled before, must try it. Just wish there were some before/after comparisons of temperatures, battery runtime etc.

Could be a good follow up on that.