Being left alone to build your cathedrals is the dream for me. This seems nice.

You are only left alone if your cathedrals generate enough value while being ignored. The post is about a tools team, so long as the tools work and nobody comes selling a "cheaper tool that solves everything" management doesn't care and you get to work. However if you tools start causing problems for the engineers who use them and the complain to management you are in trouble. If someone else comes along with a "cheaper tool that solves everything" you are in trouble (such tool may or may not be cheaper/better, the point is they can sell management on the idea they are - you didn't successfully defend yours)

Edit: there is one more danger: you do your job well and management thinks you do nothing and so gets rid of you (only to hire a new team in 3 months when everything collapses)