To me, it isn’t about why is cut or not cut. It is about whether one embraces the tone of the movies as they were filmed or whether they try to create something that is fundamentally different from what was filmed. To me, the book is fundamentally a different beats from what was filmed. The tone of the movies is clearly going for LotR prequel (with some half-hearted attempts to lighten things up as a nod to the book). But it is unfair of me to judge an edit I haven’t seen. Perhaps you’ve achieved something I thought I was impossible. I’m persuaded to at least give it a chance. Check you PMs.
Preface: Just finished writing and realized I wrote a little too much, hopefully it makes sense lol...This is just my perspective, I want to clarify I am not saying this is the "correct" way to view the trilogy, but here's my thought process in making the edit:
A big thing in my edit is consistency. While I understand your pov, I do have to say that The Hobbit films completely failed in matching with LOTR. They did film some stuff that "fit" (say, the dark and serious Dol Guldur sideplot, the White Council scenes), but outside of that you have visuals that are different, comedy that is different (a lot of immature/cringey jokes), art design that is different (think of the ridiculous troll concepts, the ones that are blind and have peg-legs), combat/physics is totally different, and as a result you get a trilogy that's either trying too hard to be silly and different, or trying to match the grandiose scale of LOTR with big battles, Sauron, returning characters.
As a base line, in my edit I removed/adjusted everything that just made you feel like you were watching an entirely different Middle Earth universe. New color grading, new presentation of combat/physics, and wacky art design has been toned down, so now you can watch both and feel like my edit can slot right before FOTR, and it's the same world, right? Even if the tone is different, the atmosphere is the same.
So, we have to remember that The Hobbit is a kids book which was tonally and structurally different. That's where things like silly songs come into play, and of course the episodic plot. First, I structured the entire plot to be essentially chapter by chapter like the book (there are still differences though), that's what gives this story its own identity rather than trying to do things like re-tell Sauron with his prequel Dol Guldur origins, shove the one ring music and its mysterious danger down our throats, or increase roles that should've been cameos; hence, I always say my edit and LOTR stand on their own, even though I've tried so hard to connect them (in terms of atmosphere). Finally, that leaves how the comedy/lightheartedness is dealt with, which goes back to what I said about "consistency." Is the comedy consistent with what could pass in LOTR (dodging arrows with sword? no. alfrid cringe humor? no. sexual kili/tauriel joke? no.). Is the comedy and lightheartedness consistent with the plot? That is, the more and more we get into this adventure, the more and more dangerous it becomes, so once we get to Laketown, Erebor, or the final battle, there won't be much comedy like the originals, it's an actual linear progression that we can get on board with. Thus, even if some of the story is spent having fun, by the end of it the stakes actually feel high, there was a sense of danger, and we feel something for our characters, which before you know it leaves us transitioning right into Fellowship of the Ring.
In summary: Most of the set pieces, characters, visuals, is much closer to what could be in LOTR, so the backbone of my edit is at that base level (or, trying to be). Then, of course the underlying plot is structured like the book (which is the part you disagree with I believe) to give the movie its own identity, but a little bit
more comedy and lightheartedness is sprinkled on top (compared to LOTR) as homage to the source material, which slowly dissipates as the story gets more serious the further we go. Songs, funny moments with Dwarves, and Bilbo's humorous interactions.
I think it hits a good combo of choosing what should match with LOTR and what shouldn't, which is a hard balance to reach. Not that my edit stands up to LOTR, though, but just a bit closer than the originals.