The OP was asking a question about a specific CF fork and what he received was a list of people essentially telling him not to "shame" his custom steel bike with a "plastic" fork. I, chose to answer his question with specifics about the product he was asking about. And in particular, the application he was asking about (a custom Strong) since I do have a bit of experience shaming the steel bikes I own.
Everything you say about steel forks is I'm sure, absolutely true. At least within the subjective nature of your experience as a rider, builder and retailer. But that's not to say that their ride is any better or worse than a CF fork and certainly not better than all CF forks. Nor is anything I said about CF any less true.
There must be 100s of 1000s of Ouzo Pros on the road so I think it's pretty safe to say that Reynolds has delivered a product that provides good performance and a decent ride. It's a pretty popular fork after all. And I'm also willing to stick my neck out and say more than likely it's going to satisfy the average rider. At least, it satisfies this average rider who has never detected any of all the CF fork problems you listed.
I think the reason to choose a steel fork has far more to do with remaining consistent with the overall appearance of the bike, rather than the magical properties it imports to the ride. That's not to say that one should choose a steel fork if it rode poorly. In my mind, a fancy lugged steel fork would look pretty silly on a TIG welded steel (or aluminum or titanium) frame. The lines don't follow. And since 1/2 (or more) of every bike purchase has to do with the appeal to the customer's eye, I think that's a significant point. On the flip side, I think a Ouzo Lite would look pretty silly on a lugged steel two tone Sachs (or Heron, or whatever) for the same reason. The looks would be compromised. To that end, I think a lot of people spec steel forks because they look good with what they're buying, which might explain why (in part) why your customers found them so attractive. People don't buy Waterfords because they want to look like Iban Mayon. How many TIG welded full-on aluminum racing bikes did you sell with steel forks?
Now, since the OP didn't specify the look he was seeking, we'll never know. At least until he wades in again. Until then, I think his bike would be best suited with CF, you don't. And that's the beauty of sharing opinions.