My biggest gripe with nerfing bots in terms of numbers is, as many others said, it won't do much since just more bots and ports would be used.
I like the idea you mention at the end a lot more, where you want to make each logistics option strong in their own way. I was always under the impression ...

I was gonna make another topic but since this is sort of related, please give me your input if this should stay here or be moved to its own thread.

So with the huge controversy around logistic bots, I actually thought that maybe train acceleration due to fuel would be a huge contributor to the ...

...if they are a good addition in terms of gamedesign, which they are most likely not.

They're a great feature, I wouldn't have made it past the demo if not for the lure of being able to try them out. The reason I say they're great is they open up the option for players to play alternative ways ...

It's painful to see the non-argument of "well then just don't use them" over and over in this thread. A lot of people seem to completely miss the point of the discussion and don't even realize it. The topic is not if you or whoever likes bots but if they are a good addition in terms of gamedesign ...

My 2 cents regarding barrels:
1) There are many possible solutions but non is perfect. This is one, there might as well be others with other benefits and downsides (barrel stack size as an example). However, I find it very hard to agree to this way to argue as if your own suggestion is without flaw ...