For myself, better code completion is enough to lure me into the world of fully type-annotated python. I don't understand what you mean by saying "cargo cult", please enlighten me.
When I do that, I ask myself: "how is it different from writing Java code?". I don't have a clear answer. It becomes almost as verbose as Java. Java has better type validation (doesn't compile on mistake); it is faster (at least some payback for verbosity); real type system has additional advantages, for example using types as part of method signature.