Honestly, there should be no quandary there. Titanium is a good material for bicycle frames. If you're drawn to that, and if that is enough, then a titanium-framed bicycle is what you should get. Traditional hand craftsmanship. If you like lugs, that is.
Lugs serve as external butts at the place where the stresses are greatest.
A typical Rivendell tube wall at the joint is 0.8mm. The lug is approximately 1.17mm. So the combined thickness is almost 2mm- Repairable . If you bend a tube in a crash. The Rivendell you ride today will never have to be discarded.