Firstly, thanks for an informative and polite exchange.  We need more of this, and bitcoin will do well.  I also think the tools for conversation will improve too.

Agree stratumv2 is a big next thing, and we need to think about prioritization.

I'm against a soft fork (covenants) primarily because we have yet to explore the tools we have already.  The other issue is that it can lead to a chain split, which is a real risk, if the community is divided.  We also dont know the unintended consequnces.  History has shown that over-confident developers overlook these routinely.  Could I live with a soft fork, maybe.

Sounds like you're doing great work.  Hope your talk is accepted!