a diffuse 100 lumen beam is more than enough to fully light up the world in front of me at a camp site (in the tent, 0.5 lumens). Bright flashlights completely destroy any night vision one has. In the process, we miss the benefit and enjoyment of a peaceful moment sitting at a mountain lake in complete darkness. There is just so much more than just beam intensity. For me, a diffuse, high CRI, warm 4000k light gets me out there and back repeatedly, all on one battery.
I agree, I rarely use more than ~15-45 lumens outside, and moonlight modes when that is enough light to make out what I need to see. Beam quality, type, cri and tint, UI, variety of moonlight modes, "pocketability," and runtimes are more important to me than max lumens and what I really love about ZL's. You can miss out on a lot of nature by announcing your presence.
I have had situations before where I did not have enough throw on me, ie., once on a night run, to make out a pack of skunks ahead of me, until just in time, and some extra lumens or throw would have been nice to give a little more warning/distance. I'm still not going to run with a thrower or higher lumens, but if I do catch something that may be worth early identification, having the ability if needed, is on my list now, lol. I'm just not sure what combinations of flood, throw and max output is ideal yet.