Soft top downsides?

I guess you could switch to a soft top if riding with the freedom panels off doesn't give you the same sense of riding in a convertible. But, if I'm not mistaken, there's quite a bit more to it than a simple switch from hard to soft top.
I believe the soft top framing needs to be attached after removing the hard top, and if the Jeep came from the factory with a hard top, those framing members for the soft top are not part of the package.
Again, I could be wrong, but my 2014 came with a hard top and I really have no desire to make the switch. I had a 2-door soft top years ago that I could remove in about 15 minutes and put a bikini top on from Easter thru Halloween. But with the time it takes and extra hands to remove a hard top, install the framing necessary for the soft top and then put the softie on just doesn't seem worth it to me.

Oh, I totally get where you're coming from and those years with my 2-door soft top were 30 years ago when I was much younger. Now, close to 70, I just don't feel it anymore.

Oh, and I'm right down the road from you and, if you haven't done this- it's a lot of fun:

https://obxjeepinvasion.com/

Wife and I have done a couple and the highlights are the Show n' Shine (high end mall crawlers), the beach crawl is okay and the lighthouse run from Duck to Hatteras is a lot of fun.

OP, Are you planning to do half doors as well? An option is a set of half doors and a bikini top, That is my favorite configuration. My last rig had a bestop softop that I could pull all the sides and have pretty much a bikini top plus I put genright aluminum doors on it to preserve the full and half doors on the mean trails.

These are well made.They also fit bestop upper half soft windows if you need to.

My 2dr came with only a hardtop. I looked into a soft top as they can found used around here for not a lot of money. It's not a super quick operation to get to a "top down" configuration in my opinion. Not difficult, but far from instant. I opted to just pop off the freedom panels and roll the windows down when the hard top is on.

In the nicer months I remove the hard top completely and install a tonneau, typically with the freedom panels on. Love this configuration! Easy to pop the panels off if I want to go completely topless or remove the tonneau if I need the rear seat. My vehicle is parked in the garage and I don't commute with it so that gives me some more leeway with this config.

I switched my hard top to a soft top and love it! With the tradional soft top there are some downsides. In my opinion the plastic windows become faded and more difficult to see out of. The zipping and unzipping the rear to access the “truck” is inconvenient.

I ended up going with the treetop hybrid. The windows are glass the and the rear opens up like a hardtop. No zippers on it anywhere. The sunrider option is doable in two minutes. My daughter and I opened it a stop light.

https://www.bestop.com/products/trektop-pro-hybrid-slantback-soft-top/?vid=130133

For my LR it had the factory hardtop and soft top from the PO. Within 2 weeks the hardtop was off and the soft top was on, and I haven’t looked back. I ended up selling the soft top. The rear zipping and unzipping section is a pain, but I’ve got where I unzip it 3/4 of the way up and flip the rear on roof which isn’t too bad. It’s the corners that are a nuisance to zip around.

Two Jeeps both soft tops and love them.