Yeah I'm with you. This stiff starter thing just seems like a way to make your starter more difficult and time consuming to feed, with more mess. I can feed my liquid starter in less than 5 minutes. The only mess is two rubber spatulas that go in the dishwasher. No flour or dirty counter to clean up. Besides that, a more liquid starter makes it easier to get a thorough and even blending of ingredients, which can only aid in bacteria and yeast propagation.

The worst part of sourdough making is keeping the starter going. I've learned how to make it as easy and quick as possible. I keep my starter in the fridge until needed. Then feed it just once and bake bread with it once it's risen. I've seen no difference in results compared to a starter kept at room temperature and fed twice a day. Also no need to feed the starter twice before taking out of the fridge. The only thing the fridge does to bacteria and yeast is slow down their metabolism. They don't "go dormant" in the fridge, they just slow down. Their metabolic rate correlates with temperature. Colder = slower, warmer = faster. They don't need a recovery period out of the fridge. As the temp of the starter goes up, so will their metabolism.

Personally, I'd be more inclined to adjust a recipe using a stiff starter to using a 1:1:1 liquid starter with the same hydration.

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