Indeed, you cannot deny the middleman's importance when dealing with an anonymous person on the internet. Reputation is a key factor there. If you can build a solid online reputation, you will likely get the payment or product first. This applies only to public forums like BitcoinTalk and hack forums. Still, this forum has middleman services to eliminate the possibility of scams.
The fact is, forum middlemen do not ask for your private information like your Real name, Identity or your electricity bills. But when you deal with some specific platforms like Binance and other centralized platforms, you compromise your private information.
I agree with you. Moreover, though, it is best to remember that there are different system that different middlemen use. I remember when I hired a middleman for a quick transaction and they never asked me to provide any personal information, everything was strictly about the transaction and anonymity that both the seller and I wants to maintain. On the other hand, I have heard some stories wherein their middleman asked for some private information that made me reluctant to proceed with the transaction but it turns out it was not a scam and the middleman was only following a system they've been practicing for long.
Actually, it's your choice to choose a middleman. If you know a middleman will ask for private information, I suggest everyone avoid such a service. Centralized exchanges, for example. You already know that if you want to do any transaction through their platform, you must verify your account with your personal information, which you may not want to share. You can ignore them and look for an alternative. The alternatives are narrow, but there are always some alternatives. If you see there are no alternatives, here is the business opportunity as well. You can create an alternative for people who like to remain anonymous.