And it's totally fine if it works you, I'm not saying one is better, I'm saying both are valid choices and if you statically export from a framework, it's not that different from what you describe.

> Frameworks force the dev into specific ways of doing things

Not really. Take Next.js, you can also use markdown (or more dynamic flavors of markdown like MDX/markdoc), you can use a headless cms, it doesn't really matter..

If you don't like Next.js you can pick a different solution, there are many! If Pelican is your jam, by all means, it's a great tool.

> I'm curious what you guys need on your sites that require so much JS.

In my day to day I work more on web apps, but lets stick to "simple" websites. Example: Using Next.js again, out of the box it does instant navigation by preloading new content on hover, and not doing full refreshes when they aren't needed. Great for the user, less bandwidth used, much faster sites. That's just one example.