Average PF2e boss

So why not lean into it fully and make the GM responsible for the whole balancing?

Because having things balanced properly in regard to the myriad options that are possible in people imaginations is hard, especially related to combat. Improper balacing leads to people having a bad time, while having an established, fair ruleset lets the DM and the players focus on other things.

No need for the framework to do balancing, because a good GM will do that.

But at this point why even have rules? A “good GM” can just entirely improvise a system.

I mean, to each group their own, but 4176 is the total of all together, which is a very unfair way of presenting it.

You’ll never have to choose between all of them, or even a decent fraction.

While leveling up, you’ll have to choose between 4-8 class feats accessible at your level, and you would usually prioritise ones available from your current levels to those available beforehand. Plus, at some point many feats require prerequisite, which means you can cut down half of options you can choose from really. Same thing with the race feats, skill feats and general feats.

8 possibilites maximum at every level up might be too much for some people, but really isn’t in the same ballpark of having to choose between 4000+ every time.

Though to be fair, if you keep getting hit by goblins at a high level, they’re probably custom-made.

Standard goblins have +8 to hit, so by level what, 10 latest they will never manage to hit you again.