To me, someone who celebrates a bit more of the spectrum than most: Metal hot. Make food hot.
Non-stick means easier cleanup, but my wife seems to think cast-iron is necessary for certain things (searing a prime rib roast, for example.).
After I figure those out, then I gotta figure out gas vs. electric vs. induction vs infrared…
Cast iron is pretty good at almost everything, but isn’t the best at anything.
For searing meat at high temps, I’ve settled on stainless steel. It’s easy to clean and maintain, and the typical 3-ply or 5-ply cladding has much better heat transfer characteristics than cast iron (which is a mediocre heat conductor masked by the fact that it’s so heavy and thick that it takes on a lot of thermal mass to aid in searing). You don’t have to worry about metal utensils or harsh scrubbers scratching the surface. And you don’t have to worry about acidic ingredients messing with the surface, either.
For things that need nonstick characteristics, like eggs, I cycle through nonstick on a short replacement cycle (once every 2 or 3 years). I might get a carbon steel one day but I’m not in a hurry.
The 5 ply stuff is really good. The ones I have are just as heavy as the cast iron but they can go in the dishwasher so that makes them my favorite. They cost way more than cast iron though
Eggs tend to cook rather well on cast iron so long as you use butter/tallow/fat/etc. and aren’t scrambling them.
Unfortunately I scramble my eggs nowadays so I don’t have much reason to use my cast iron pan anymore :(
I scramble eggs in my cast iron all the time. No issues. What issues are you having with that?