So just to clarify things, E-Cycles indeed let the user decide. All tricks are optional, so that you can adapt to your client. So the image above is a testimonial of the engine flexibility and speed only. Quality level is up to the artist.
I find it actually a big plus, because you can render as fast as Eevee, just by using the improved AO simplify option, using a render engine you already know and which has a very good eco system of ready to use assets, materials, plug-ins (like Toonkit), etc. And if you notice your client wants more or less quality, in Eevee you must add manual volume probes, fake lights, etc. which requires much more work and has to be redone when the scene is changed by the architect or client. With Cycles, you can just change it with one or 2 sliders to switch from Eevee/UE style to Photorealistic and it adapts instantly when the project is modified.
So the example above was just to show their is no need to learn yet another render engine and that E-Cycles is very flexible and can indeed also be very fast.