[frumplestlatz]

It's absolutely a true dichotomy. If unchecked exceptions exist, all code must be carefully written to be exception-safe, and the compiler is not going to help you at all.

Of course it's convenient to be able to ignore error paths when you're writing code. It's also a lot less convenient when those error paths cause unexpected runtime failures and data corruption in production.

A preference for unchecked exceptions is one of my most basic litmus tests for whether a developer prioritizes thinking deeply about invariants and fully modeling system behavior. Those that don't, write buggy code.