My retort:

I have a WML on my duty gun. I work a fair amount of plainclothes and have a similar set up when I work out of uniform. I even have a more scaled down where I just carry a j frame and a small titan surefire in my pocket. Or even my 365 without the light instead of the xl. It’s like wearing the right shoes, different shoes for different jobs. I agree with almost everything said here except the shooting at the light comment, IMHO that’s 1970s police shooting info.

Modern gun fighting needs swiftness of action and rounds on target. But what do I know.

Not a chance on my carry pistol. What are you looking for in the dark with your edc? If I need to draw my weapon, I better have already identified a threat. If you point your light at me to "ID" me, and it is attached to your weapon, bad things may happen. Carry a separate light.

Criminals like the dark, and, separately having a hand free is often useful. The likelihood of needing it is low. So it the likelihood have having a self defense shooting. But you're still carrying the gun.

I do not consider a weapon-mounted light to be essential. Nice to have, but, not essential. I do consider hand-held lights to be essential, and I carry some serious hand-held lights, regularly.

Criminals may tend to favor doing their thing at night, but even they must be able to see what they are doing. If I know how to use darkness as my friend, as well as light, I am ahead of the game.

The smallest weapon-mounted light that I use is a Surefire X200b. I like its beam; I wish I had stocked-up on them, when they were being sold new. The mini-lights, designed to use on mini-pistols, have not (yet) impressed me.

I have tended to shift to revolvers, for carry, lately, anyway, making weapon-mounted lights less significant. I need plenty of live-fire trigger time, with my Glocks, to maintain a comforting level of competence. We have stopped visiting ranges, until my wife, at least, is fully vaccinated. (She has serious co-morbidities.) Long-stroke DA is my least-perishable trigger skill.