This is a good feature but normal users are getting locked out constantly. IMO a good middle ground is if you forget your password or lose access, you can start the process of a factory reset which triggers notifications to your apple account and your email telling you to cancel it if the device was legitimately lost or stolen but if nothing happens after a week your device gets reset.

That is actually a good suggestion. Getting locked out of your own device and then trying to prove ownership seems too much hassle.

I wonder how many device are rendered useless due to this "security feature".

Personally I know of 5 mobile devices which have been bricked by this security feature and I do not know anyone who has had anything actually stolen (including things like wallets with no protection).

Also to note that there is no proving ownership to get around the lock. You either have the password to log in or it’s bricked. You can go to apple or google with proof of purchase and they will not / can not unlock the device.

We weren't after unlock. We wanted to erase and reuse the device. AFAIK Apple genius can do that in-store if you show the proof of ownership.

There are online services which claim to do this if you can prove the ownership.