I'm aware of how much overhead CI pipelines can be, especially for multiple platforms and architectures, but at the same time developing for N>1 developers without some sort of CI feels like developing without version control: it's like coming to work without your trousers on.

Yeah, that was my entire point really—there's some complexity that's just warranted. It's similar to a proper risk assessment analysis: The goal isn't to avoid all possible risks, but accepting some risk factors as long as you can justify them properly.

As long as you're pragmatic and honest with what you need from your CI setup, it's okay that it makes your system more complex—you're getting something in return after all.