But to clarify, doesn't consolidating the blocks during these cheap/free times mean you lose that extra privacy when you go to spend it as all would be coming from one account from thereon? It sounds like to me that it makes sense for transactions, say, under $100... any higher, not really to preserve that privacy coming from different accounts.
Discussion
Yeah consolidating has privacy tradeoffs. Many other ways to use blockspace, maybe you are making lightning channels, moving to multisig, or just making regular on chain payments with lower fees than lightning (for large spends)!