RevPis are literally using CM3+ from raspberry, so I don't really see the point you're trying to make there? They're also far more expensive than regular RPis. (I use RevPis profesionally with Balena for fleet management.)
Edit: Are you arguing in favour of RPi(-like) devices by saying they can be very useful in applications where an old laptop/computer you have lying around wouldn't be?
Yeah, the use-case for rPi's is not just to 'function as a hackers toy', but also serve as the basis - a platform - for a great deal many other industry standard applications.
The Compute Module is rapidly becoming an embedded commodity - a SOM that is easy to source, has decent tooling, and for which there is an expanding source of developers...
Sure, there are other SOM/SOC vendors out there - but few have as resilient a distribution as the raspberryPi foundation.
But it turns out, its a pretty decent little computer for a lot of things: Just make your own breakout box.
Edit: Are you arguing in favour of RPi(-like) devices by saying they can be very useful in applications where an old laptop/computer you have lying around wouldn't be?