> Setting up code navigation (jumping to a function and back, seeing all references) for C++ code was significantly complex to setup for emacs (compared to vscode). I choose productivity.

There's a bit of a false dichotomy. When I was a C++ developer, I always edited in Emacs and used other tools (e.g. Visual Studio) for the convenience features. No one insists you have to use one or the other.

Having said that, people who use Emacs primarily for coding are likely not going to stick to it. Emacs is a text editor. Programming is merely one use case amongst many.