This is indeed a good argument for the other side. However, I still prefer to have this metric visible. I do care about follower count, since I plan to go write long form content soon, and it's nice to know that you write for a big (er) audience. There is a good chance that the interaction will be very low in the beginning. In that case a growing follower count will be a motivator. 

Happily this decision will be made per client, so we will probably both get what we want!