Can I conclude that you consider that stylus drag is the cause of the differences between idler and other drive types?
Yes indeed. And particularly how the drive system handles stylus drag induced by transients in the source material.
The time pattern of transients define the rhythm of the music which in turn is why idlers subjectively are better at
keeping the beat.
The cost of the idler system is potentially more drive system noise which in turn may mask fine details.
The best idler drive implementations attempt to reduce this noise as much as possible by perfect alignment, mass
and good sounding materials.
This is what you see in uber idlers such as saskia, oma, marc's, audiosilente, etc.
Personally, I dont mind trading off a few details for a perfect beat.
Jesper