One could have the equivalent of DKMS build the modules into the kernel image instead of building the initramfs. I don't know how much practical overhead there

One could have the equivalent of DKMS build the modules into the kernel image instead of building the initramfs. I don't know how much practical overhead there is to the initramfs and pivot_root dance, but it feels far uglier than it should need to be to just load some modules.