I'm not for myStromer AG, I'm a Stromer owner in Switzerland - but I have good connections to the company; so I had the opportunity to test ride almost all models. Test ride means, I've made at least 1'000km on each Stromer.
Bicycle-feeling: Mid-drives cannot complete due to the technical concept (motor and cyclist power must go over drivetrain, its gearing reduces the effective power on the axle). The secret thing is the TMM4 called torque sensor on the rear end and the way how its values set the motor power.
All street legal e-bikes have the same top speed: 45km/h Here in Switzerland, these fast e-bikes are very common. I commute every day on all weather. I met a lot of other brands on my way. No one can follow me on a road with corners, or uphill on public main roads.
My average speed on even hilly rides is often in the 38-42 km/h range with both my class 3 mid-drive bikes. One is very high torque, and the other is very light weight. Maintaining 45+ km/h on the flat with either of them is pretty effortless. I can't say with certainty what would happen if we met up on thee hills of Switzerland, but at the very least you probably wouldn't be blowing past me!
It seems to me any inefficiency you can point to with mid-drives is more than made up for by mid-drives having less rotating mass than hub drives.
If noise is an issue then choose a very quiet mid-drive, such as one with a belt-drive Brose motor.
Just as you're suggesting people should actually ride a Stromer to understand the experience, it's worth noting that mid-drives have shed a lot of weight, gained a lot of torque, gained much smoother acceleration/deceleration curves, etc., in recent years. Perhaps it cuts both ways. If you're last long mid-drive ride was circa 2017, then things have changed a lot.
I haven't had the chance to ride a Stromer yet, though you've obviously got me curious to. But on paper, it doesn't make sense that it would compete with a top-end mid-drive (and given the prices of Stromers, the top-end mid-drives are the obvious ones to compare against). But hey, stranger things have happened.
How are the weights of Stromers? Top-end mid-drive e-bikes are dropping down into the 25-35 pound (11-16 kilo) range, sometimes even with very large batteries (500+ Wh).