I really wish we can hope for an DFS-R extension for WAC. I do much appreciate your honesty and clear words on the feedback (rant). We aren't getting younger, we have constraints to fill job roles with talents, not only in IT. Sometimes though the process of HR is too narrow minded not giving people a chance or require moving still in 2023.
You know better than me there are talents to fill the gap, even volunteers, but DFS, network file shares and everything needed, especially for WAC needs to be open source as it is mostly PowerShell anyway. Please release extensions on github to allow you to focus your valueable ressources on the job and let creative people contribute their needs to the solution. It works so well with Terminal, PowerShell, winget, Powertoys and I have zero idea why WAC and WAC extensions are closed source, even harming the product with slow fixes.
This is not a complaint mainly on the unclear decision of the WAC PG. They even removed feedback from github.eIt's rather targeted to inspire you bringing up the case in MSFT Redmond that it would be necessary and helpful to joint forces on extensions for WAC on github that are related SMB, NedPyle. Then we finally can deprecate Windows XP GPO GPP (Client side extensions) with very slow WMIC under the hood, in mind WMIC is already on the list of "optional features" for a reason in Windows 11.
Good luck!