Do you like offroading? It seems not. KDSS excels in rock crawling, that's not the issue some people have with it on 4Rs.
There are two issues with KDSS, aside from easiness of modifications:
1/Unlike the GX case, it can beat you up on speeds above 15mph offroad. Unless you are driving buggies on extreme trails, most time offroad is spent on dirt roads and easy trails at speeds above 15 mph, whether one likes it or not. A GX is comfortable at those speeds, but a KDSS 4Runner lacks that part of the GX suspension. So, KDSS on a 4Runner is a premium bit on a vehicle that is not otherwise premium so the package is questionable.
2/ The second issue with KDSS is front ground clearance, of which it eats a full inch. That would not be an issue on a solid axle vehicle, but on the 4Runner it is a problem. A non-kdss can be armored instead of lifted but a KDSS vehicle really needs a lift. Yet, KDSS makes lifts harder and I am sure lifts undermine some of KDSS' value in helping with travel in rocks.
1+2=KDSS on a 4runner is optimized for people sticking mostly to pavement where it delivers in cornering and handling on daily basis.
As for the Pro, I may be the greatest fan of the despised non-Pro stock shocks here, but if you think that a performance suspension is not an upgrade offroad....
Finally, the premium Toyota offroader in the US is the 4Runner TRD series, any trim. The 2013+ GX is not very offroad capable in stock form due to abysmal approach angle and the 200-series Land Cruiser in stock form won't compete with a stock TRD 4Runner offroad, regardless of trim. The pre-2013 GX are offroad capable stock but not as much as a TRD series 5th generation due to lack of rear locker and worse angles. In between the TRD trims, the stock Pro will have the least issues getting the furthest with the stock KDSS TRD having the most. It is a 1.75" front clearance split between these two trims with mine in between. Stock vs stock.
Also, wallets have nothing to do with this discussion.