The decision on the iPod was to treat it as a spoke, with the hub being the computer. This was done with the idea that people may have multiple devices they sync to. Source of truth in this case makes sense to put it in the center.

The downside is that as you found, if you wipe the source of truth (the iTunes Library files), it's can't be easily recreated from any of the spoke devices.

Apple is shifting away from this model, but it requires an iOS device for playback of the music. iTunes Match has been working well for me so far, allowing me to add music at any device. Once added, all other devices see it without a manual sync. Combine with ensuring one Mac always has local copies and my backups, I should be good to go even if the cloud portion has issues.