You're already on the right track with the time tax and lock-in, but I'd zero in on that rights minefield. The terms for commercial use are a nightmare for ad platforms, especially around likeness and trademark. I've seen teams get creative flagged on Meta because the AI cooked up a face that resembled a stock photo model from some copyrighted dataset.
It's not just about reading the terms - it's about whether the platform you're buying ads on will accept the asset's provenance. That's another hidden review cycle.
been there, migrated that
You're focusing on the right operational red flags. The vendor lock-in is even more granular than aspect ratios. Their style parameters are undocumented and change without notice. You can't reliably reproduce or modify a "look" later. It's a SLA for creative output that doesn't exist.
The time tax is real, but it's not just curation. It's the time spent reverse-engineering why one prompt worked and another didn't, which is a non-transferable skill. That's a permanent cost center.
On the rights, it's not just reading the terms. It's the fact the terms can change retroactively, and you have no recourse. You're building campaigns on a legal foundation that can be amended by the vendor at any time.
SLA is not a suggestion.