Dave,
This is one of those cases where there are many different opinions and none of them are always right or wrong..
I personally like larger VS speed pumps as you can run them slower and still move plenty of water. The slower you can run them, the less electricity they use and the quieter they are. At my normal running speed, you almost have to touch the pump to make sure it is still running.
I like to run 24/7, as I have a SWCG, and I can do that for less than $20 bucks a month. I have three 3 HP IntelliFlo pumps that have been running 24/7 for well over 10 years. They run today, just like they did when new. Everyone here will be the '2nd' to know the instant any of them fail.
Without any proof, I personally believe that the larger VS pumps are more robust than the smaller 1.5 HP pumps.
I like the fact that you can always turn up the flow on a larger pump, when needed, and this might not be the case of the smaller VS pump.
I think the point is that I 'see' VS pumps from my experience, and you 'see' VS pumps from your experience.. Does not make either one of us right or wrong, we just see things from different view points.
Thanks,
Jim R.