One of my backup bikes has the E13 9-46T on it and my others have a 10-50T and main XC bike now has a 10-52T. The 9-46T is fine for the riding I do in the Midwest (Ohio - Mohican, IN - Brown County) but when I go out West with those long sustained climbs the lower gearing is super helpful.
I like the added range of the 10-52T and it allows me to be more flexible with my front ring. If I don’t need ultralow gearing, then I can run a bigger front ring. If I’m going to have a long day with some huge steep long climbs, then I can adjust the front ring as needed. So it really is about terrain.
A great example is Leadville where some taller gearing on the flats is nice, but you really need the lower gearing when you hit Powerline on the way back. Even the upper portion of Powerline that most people ride is challenging, so having the 10-52T to bailout may save some walking when the legs are getting tired.
The torque argument makes sense for the really short steep technical stuff where you don’t want to spin out, but for long sustained stuff the low gearing is key.