The only novel benefit, as you say, is "decentralized trust". The blockchain portion of the NFT in most cases is simple a pointer to the asset and the owner, w

The only novel benefit, as you say, is "decentralized trust". The blockchain portion of the NFT in most cases is simple a pointer to the asset and the owner, with the actual asset being off-chain managed by a single entity that can do whatever they please with it. Why does the ownership need to be decentralized if ultimately, the asset is mutable?