Bitcoin Core is not run by maximalists. It's run by academics who mostly don't align with maximalists. To say that Core is "run" at all is an exaggeration. This is a loose knit pack of people, most of whom have never worked a real software job in their life. They dont have product managers. They just have their own little hobby horse ideas that they advocate for incessantly until they can get enough acks to move forward. They do not see typical node runners as iser's or very important to the project at all.