Give me a break, i don’t want to sound harsh, but ur a bit mistaken.
of course we’re not puppets.
of course we HAVE to use our brains and think for ourselves, you are absolutely correct, of course we have to make our own decisions…to some extent.
But there is a reason why we are commanded to follow our Gedolim.
when you have a group of Rabbonim, who you ACCEPT and agree are your Torah authority, who you acknowledge know and UNDERSTAND more than you do, then what they say goes.
i’m not saying every little shnook with smicha do you have to follow what he says.
but if you agree that a certain person is a great Rav, and a Gadol, THEN your arguements and reasonings go out the window.
we are not supposed to follow our Gedolim only when what they decide “makes sense”
we are suppposed to follow our Gedolim even if “What they say makes no sense”
they are our gedolim. we follow them and trust them.
if you have a problem with this, i suggest you speak to your Rav.
i hope i didn’t offend you in my effort at persuasion, if i did please be mochel me.