I agree 100% and I would argue that unless you are pairing together just to see how you work together and for some back and forth problem solving, no other code

I agree 100% and I would argue that unless you are pairing together just to see how you work together and for some back and forth problem solving, no other code test provides a better signal than a good conversation. Not set questions, even, just a good conversation. What issue have they run into with Framework X, how do they refactor, what's the weirdest bug they've ever had to track down, etc etc etc. SV seems to enjoy grueling 7-10 round interviews these days. I had one a couple months ago that was over 40 hours (of my time) and over 20 hours (of their time, that I was aware of). I just can't believe that much time provides 20-40x the value of a simple relaxed conversation.