On the laptop I find transparency useful to read what's behind the terminal window without constantly flipping back and forth or micromanaging my windows. But I also use a solid-color desktop, so most of the time it's not even apparent that anything is transparent.

That level of transparency, yes. However, my terminal emulator is set to 35% opacity, and I like it and can use it just fine; I use it frequently, too, multiple times per day.