You try to have a rational conversation though, so that is a plus.
DB, I appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective and I think many other people here do too.
As a tactical guy trying to benefit from competitive shooting (USPSA in particular), here's how I organize it, and this is personal preference on my part:
Use as close to unified gear as I can. Ammo and the recoil spring are about the only gear that's not unified for me. Shoot whatever Division that gear is allowed in. Of the available options, I choose Limited.
Try to win the game. This is big IMHO. Yeah, I get that it flushes tactics because time will be a very important factor in overall score, but without trying to win the game, the chief power of the competition itself - honestly trying to beat the highly skilled opponents, is lost.
I do a big 'hard break' at the end of each stage and consciously decide that I'm done, then do the unload-show-clear. I've seen people in both competition and tactical training get bit by relaxing too soon and speed-dismounting the gun and exiting the firing process before they had actually completed the task at hand.
To me, the biggest benefits of competitive shooting are the honest competition itself, and the stressful testing it provides of on-demand performance with the most relevant-to-me possible equipment, against a wide variety of targets and target presentations, through a wide range of physical movement, barriers, and positioning.
To counter un-tactical elements of competitive shooting, I engage in tactical training - live, dry, scenario, FOF - focused on many things, including:
Decisionmaking (carrying out the priorities of self-defense, starting with avoidance and ending with neutralization)
Threat ID and assessment
Managing muzzle in proximity to non-threats
Subtleties of trigger management, like rescinding an in-progress trigger press
Misdirective tactics
Post-shooting procedure (follow-through on downed threat, 360 scan, reloading, verbalization, etc.)
Active use of barriers that is relevant to living, maneuvering, aggressing adversaries
Reactive and proactive positional shooting
Single handed use of the pistol (in addition to shooting, true SHO and WHO draws, reloads, and malfunction clearance)
Low light, with and without the aid of a flashlight
Exertion drills
Anatomically-correct reactive targets
Obviously there is much more addressed in training than I am coming up with off the top of my head but that's a good start.