I have used double-butted spokes. The weight difference is about 1 spoke’s worth for 36 and I didn’t notice a difference in sturdiness. Then again I break a spoke about every 20K miles so my sample is too small. I participate in bicycle forums (I pedal about 5K/year, as opposed to a few hundred miles driving.) I no longer get into double-butted (you can get them triple- and quadruple-butted too) vs straight gauge arguments. The people on the butted side probably know better than I do.
When I started riding, 53 years ago, sew-ups were exotic and had a reputation for being hard to work with. They also held a lot more pressure than clinchers. Clincher technology has improved; I can inflate mine to 120 psi. I ride around on city streets, local trails, dirt roads; I’ll get 30 miles from home; walking back is a drag - so I prefer sturdiness.
I used to live outside on my bicycle: ride up to Canada, across to the East coast, down to the Keys, back to California. I rode back roads, often dirt, camped out, bypassed cities. A bicycle that I couldn’t fix with parts from the Western Auto was a liability. When I first used Presta valves I broke my pump in rural Florida. No one had a pump or Presta tubes. So I drilled out the valve hole and have used Schraders ever since.
Does anyone make stainless spokes for auto wheels? All the best bicyclists who use spoked wheels use stainless. I’d think those chromed spokes would un-plate from wear, the way my plated spokes do (and their plating is nickel, which may be less brittle than chrome) and look ugly. I can’t imagine truing an auto wheel.