Node count should be considered centralized when people with decent computers cannot run a node on their bedroom, this is I think very clear. If people can't run a node on a single computer, its when the centralization process starts and once it starts it will expand like mining, it will end up getting "specialized", so it's crucial that we never get past that point where people can run nodes at home.
Exactly. I've asked the 'big blockist' and 'forkers' before and got no reply (aside from insults). Currently there are people that run nodes on Raspberry Pi's. Obviously this won't be possible in the future unless there is an updated version but we can disregard that. Where is the cut-off point, Pentium, Dual Core, Intel i3? They'd be willing to waste a lot of valuable resources and heavily reduce the node count just in order to be able to process small purchases on the main chain. I don't see a valid reason for this; your $1 purchase doesn't need the security of a 1 Exa-hash network.