Inkscape has a few text deformation tools Gimp lacks. Importing svgs produced from Inkscape would be a big win. People will use that.

An alpha mask on an adjustment layer allows for all sorts of useful adjustment blends using paint brushes or black and white gradients. I’m sure you’ve seen how Ps handles adjustment layers. Krita is similar. This is just a common interface element now. It works well. Shrug.

Good luck. Thank you for Gimp 3. It is a real improvement over prior major releases.