> I find the value of having the actual surrounding context in which the code was developed more valuable

But only if those commits are real atomic changes of code which compiles and not a series of 'oops', 'tests pass once again!' , 'forgot to commit this file' type inner-monologue type history.

And then there are shops where less technical authors are contributing solely via the GitHub WebUI. So you get a commits of the ilk 'Updated <Filename>' or ''Files added via upload'.