I understand and respect your points.
However, some of us look at the line above as a good thing, a strength.
I think it was you that said (and if I'm wrong I apologize) "I'm tired of hearing how it lets you homebrew or gives you space"...
In reality for ME, that is the strong point. I dont...
Nearly the same as you. I do have product at Beyond, that an online group of military buddies and I use to make things easier, but prefer pencil and paper. In fact, in many cases, I just print the info from the browser and bring it to table or pdf anyway.
The Emperor's Soul by Sanderson is the one of the best short stories ever, it covers all the narratives, introduction, main points, character development, twist, conclusion, etc, in so few pages that its amazing.
"I like...big books and I cannot lie,
little bitty books just make me cry.
Reading short stories just makes no sense,
gimme that tome that's thick and dense..."
-apologies to Sir Mixalot.
In my concept they use "mage hand" or "telekinetic beams" for arms...but I might keep the tentacles...I like the creepiness and similarity to beholders.
Here is a picture that Bing Image creator and I generated, regarding my version of Modrons.
"d&d fantasy, square cube made of brass metal, forces fields, with a glowing blue eye and three mechanical tentacles"
Kinda made me wonder, and inspire the thought... "Beholders hate each other and...