spent some time looking into it. this article sums it up pretty well:
https://cryptobriefing.com/will-ethe...ter-the-merge/
TL;DR there's lots of centralized projects/infrastructure built on top of ethereum. it is what it is -- you can't stop circle from freezing USDC on whatever address they want to. You can't stop infura from blacklisting whatever protocols/dApps they want to. You can't stop coinbase from refusing to interact with whatever addresses they like. You can't stop an eth client from placing whatever restrictions they like on addresses and protocols.
These issues exist both pre- and post-merge. They have nothing to do with the merge.
32 eth per validator actually seems quite reasonable. validators need to have some real skin in the game. It's not any different than bitcoin miners investing huge $$ into mining equipment.
The vast majority of dApps are fully decentralized. Infura can block you from accessing tornado cash via infura nodes, but no one can stop you from using tornado cash through your own node. No one can stop you from using whatever DeFi apps you like. But coinbase can refuse to cash you out if they don't like what your address is doing. They're a centralized company. That's their right.