Tournament late reg worth it?

I've always had mixed feelings about late registration in tourneys. On one hand, I get why players want to avoid early-phase showdowns against wild all-in guys who just want to double or bust in the first few levels. But the math changes a lot when you join with only 20-30 big blinds. It messes with your range and gives way less room to maneuver or pick up reads, especially in live settings where I like settling into the table and checking who's loose or tight.

For the online rooms, it feels like late reg gets snapped up mostly by the regulars chasing overlays or looking to reduce overall variance. But I'm not convinced the EV works out the same for people who don't crush push/fold spots. Anyone out there tracking actual ROI from early versus late entry? Curious how you all are making the call when there's a big player pool.