Of course I agree there are benefits. And there is always a balance of the benefits versus the dangers. That is why we use telephones even though we sometimes talk loshon hara on them, and the chofetz chaim didn’t say not to.
It is you who are insisting that there is only black and white, by insisting that we should either always say that any benefit outweighs danger, or that any danger outweighs any benefit.
If you think the benefits of internet outweigh the dangers–good for you! Use it in good health. But why must you mock people who think otherwise, especially seeing as we are talkimg about gedolim?
(And as far as your thinking the smut problem is exagerated, I’d like yo know what information you are relying on. My friends don’t usually tell me if it is a problem for them, but they often do tell the rav–which is how the rabbonim know.)