I don't think that's true in practical practice with actual people, is it? Australia has been using some form of IRV for a hundred years and has had approximately zero problems with it (have they ever had a majority-preferred candidate eliminated?), and has gained the benefits of allowing diversity in candidates without "spoilers". In practice, people don't game it.

As a theoretical matter, I prefer Condorcet voting for the reasons you state. But in actual-real-world-practice, I don't see very much need for it because IRV/STV works fine. (The generalization to STV is also simpler.)