Oh, believe me, I’m well aware of GoPro limitations! 
Higher resolution is definitely helpful in some applications. Trying to identify species seen is my area and 2K resolution is much more helpful for seeing small details in animals, seaweed, etc. I’d go with 4k if I could, but 2K seems to be a good balance between resolution and video file size and post-processing ability. Plus the GoPros get really, really hot at 4k (from my experience with Hero 6s) and die after an hour or so of recording.
My ideal camera would be something that’s in the 2-4k range (with the option to switch resolution as desired), but that can be controlled (and processed) by a Raspberry PI or some other SBC. Even if the video is stored on the camera, but can be easily accessed by the SBC after the fact.
I’m not sure if HD video will cut it for what I’m trying to do (but I’d be happy to try one of your cameras to see if other factors would balance out the loss of resolution ).