Fantastic question. Let me start with the fact that M1 and Intel are simply incomparable. I still have an Intel 15" Pro as a backup machine and let me tell you that thing will spin up the fans for almost anything. Intel CPUs run super hot all the time. M1 is ice-cold most of the time (27 celsius). I have been keeping an eye on the temp sensors and have yet to see the temp going above 60–70 celsius on the M1, and that’s when you’ll also hear the fans. The issue with the Air is that as a Pro user for all the things you mentioned, I doubt the Air will be a good bet if that machine is going to be your main ever-day 8–12 hours a day driver. I think you’d be asking a bit much from it. I think it will do its best to keep up with your demands, but it will likely have to self-throttle more often than you’d like in order not to overheat, and those will be the moments you’ll wonder if you made the right choice. You also have to account for advancements in software. If you’re going to use this M2 Air for just a year or maybe two as your main machine, then you could risk it, but if you plan to keep it around for say 4–5 years, the new versions of OS, apps and everything else eating up resources will eventually render the machine slower than you’d like at the load you’re suggesting using it.