“My two carbon steel skillets from Merten and Storck are better than cast iron.”
I would mix and match. My two carbon steel skillets from Merten and Storck are better than cast iron and better than nonstick for what I use them for; cast iron would be better for baking in, and that's about it. To clean the carbon steel, I wait for it to cool, and use soap and a rough steel wool, and fifteen seconds later, it's clean. I add a spray of cooking oil, swirl with towel, and they're done. This is what cast iron is supposed to be, but this is easy and brainless, and yeah, it's nonstick. They don't go in the dishwasher, but this is \*easy\*. I would add All Clad's D3 stainless sauce pots and stock pots. Or Vita Craft. Whatever. American multi-ply steel pots. They \*absolutely\* go in the dishwasher, so I get the unpolished outside; the shiny ones look rough if you dishwash 'em. I might add a dutch oven from Le Creuset, might not. Uncoated inside so I can treat it like I treat the carbon steel. Maybe add a 9x9 or 9x13 baking dish from Le Creuset as well. I would not have anything chemically treated nonstick. Plain stainless baking sheets, albeit with a lovely fitted silpat on top, and the silpat goes in the dishwasher. I have all of this stuff. None of it is new. It will all outlast me, albeit the silpat seems to need a replacement every 15+ years. I used to have different stuff, but this stuff was indeed better.