I live down country on the north OR coast and have two bikes with front hub motors that I control with throttles and no pedal assist. Probably about 4k miles between them at this point. Both are able to run at 1000+w but primarily I use the 500w setting my display/controller allows me to do. Also I have a cruise control setting whereby I can hold the throttle at my desired wattage for 2 secs and let go and it will maintain that setting or go lower if not needed but not higher. That way I control my pedal input to the drivetrain at whatever gear ratio/effort I want to complement the terrain and motor output. Personally this works better for my style of riding than a dedicated torque/cadence sensing PAS. I pedal 99% of the time anyway as that is most of the reason I ride a bicycle.
If you don't have a cruise control feature riding with a throttle can be a bit fussy but still doable, just get to the speed you want to go, find a complimentary gear ratio and feed enough throttle to maintain your momentum. You may find you prefer the cadence sensing system that comes with your kit however once you get it hooked up but I personally find CS to provide too vague a feeling at the pedals. One thing for sure a throttle helps for starting out from a stop and as an assist in the event you have to get off and get the heavy bike uphill. A throttle will not make any eBike more powerful than any PAS system is able to and although many dismiss it I find it to be very handy to have on board.
I get my gear from ebikes.ca up in Van mostly because they have the most comprehensive display, CA3, that allows for the features I mentioned as well as tracking Ah's, Wh's, temp, speed, distance, battery cycles etc. and is programmable. I like their All Axle Front Hub motor the best as it has a great built in torque arm system and is the lightest DD hub available. I also have a bike with a 9c which has proven to be very good. They are the most knowledgeable hub motor source on the planet.
My wheels were custom built using Sapim Strong spokes and have been trouble free. I even rode my 9c home 6 miles on a flat tire once, slowly primarily on a dirt logging road, when I couldn't get the tube patched after spending an hour trying. It still runs true as the day it was built. As long as your spoke tension is good you shouldn't have any problems. But for sure you need to have some sort of a torque arm to prevent the axle rotating in the dropout and causing damage or at worst fully coming out.
I would say as you already have it give it a try before you seek other options. Although I prefer my mid drive with torque assist on my mtb for trail riding, for road use I will never switch over to anything other than a front hub/throttle control now that I am used to it.
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