Hi, this is the author of wmkeyboard. Thanks for the detailed write-up. Here are my thoughts:

Yes, it is designed as a kitchen sink, or rather, it’s turned out that way due to improper planning. I’m in the process of streamlining things a bit more, and there are still a few things to iron out. And yes, some people like this and some don’t; I’m someone who does. I initially built this keyboard only for myself and shared it, not anticipating that it would get the traction it is getting right now. And yes, I have already thought about moving things to be purely opt-in, like plugins, and I was just working on that before reading your comment. You can also make the wmkeyboard suggestion bar scroll to the side with this setting and you can edit not only symbols layout but any layout and screen in the keyboard, even things like the handwriting input panel or the emoji panel or number input or anything else. It also has a visual layout editor which I believe heliboard and Florisboard lack and also I don’t think they allow changing the other layouts that wmkeyboard does. Oh, also, you can import settings, layouts, themes, etc., from Heliboard, Florisboard, and more for easier switching.

But this comes in a not too distant third. That’s saying a lot from me.

Yes that is saying a lot about you and your ability to utilise this keyboard. Most of the user reviews I’ve heard say that they’ve been using multiple keyboards including the ones you mentioned and this one is the best they’ve tried

Also I’ve taken note of the overly cumbersome settings navigation and onboarding and will make them more easy and straightforward in the future