Realistically, I have no right to comment the NODE since I have never owned one. My first Bluesound was Node 2, followed by Powernode 2 and currently I have Node 2i. At one point, after reading about the poor performance of the built in DAC I purchased the Schit Modi (the cheapest $99.00 version). The reviews were very positive and it was reasonably priced. After a month or so I figured that I was unable to hear any sound improvement and sold it. I am not implying that there is anything wrong with the Schit. I am just saying I was unable to hear any improvement. It could be my hearing.
My initial exposure to the streaming was by Logitech Squeeze Box Duet. I was very excited when after a few days of trying I was eventually able to stream the music! Again, I am not blaming the unit. It could simply be me and lack of expertise and understanding of how the software worked.
When I switched to my first Node, I experienced a huge improvement in all aspects. The sound was much better and the app was very easy to use (even for me). Since then, there were numerous upgrades and updates of the app. They added a number of new features like MQA, Airplay, two way bluetooth etc. If you are not in a mood of waiting for an update, you can skip it or postpone it and just enjoy the music.
About having no remote, you can "teach" your Node to work its basic functions using any remote you may have sitting around.
About the risk of Bluesound stopping the support of their equipment, I believe that is identical to Roon doing the same. It is actually probably lower having in mind how long the NAD/Bluesound have been around. I remember reading the justification of the price increase for Roon: "It is very expensive to maintain and improve the quality of the service" or something like that. Among other things, Bluesound is licensing their OS to other manufacturers. Dali comes to mind and I doubt their (Dali's) decision has been motivated by "confirmation bias".
On a different level, nobody is questioning the cost of Roon. I am talking about their lifetime subscription (because paying it monthly is like buying an inkjet printer). Why $ 700? Why not $ 1500? I had a three month trial of Roon and it is really nice. Unfortunately I did not know how to use all of the features, among others, the equalizer function since you need additional equipment and expertise to properly use it. So based on that a lifetime subscription that I would consider reasonable is in a $150-200 range.
That is bringing us to the next question: How much is the Bluesond OS that comes with a lifetime subscription actually worth? Since it comes with all the features I need and know how to use, for me it is worth at least half of the cost of Roon. That brings us to the cost of the hardware in a range of $250. Having in mind that the Node is fully fledged pre amp that comes with a streamer, I tend to believe it is a real bargain. None of the Pi options is anywhere near the Node in that regard.
I am aware that some of my statements may be subjective or arbitrary but that was a general tone of this discussion from the very beginning.
About "confirmation bias" it may be worth reading this article:
https://darko.audio/2021/08/eisa-hi-fi-awards-2021-2022/