I think the whole concept needs to be moved to a companion mode for iPhone and iPad. And maybe Apple Watch. As it is you can’t make it part of your workflow if you use an external keyboard any significant portion of the time, assuming you even want to in the first place.
If TouchBar was above the function key row, as opposed to replacing it, everyone would praise it as yet another example of Apple's genius at UI/usability. But it's not, so they don't.
