Again, for whom? And when one has qualified one’s statement, why do you insist that he/she changes his view? If the “much” in “much as” were to ever appear alone, you might be able to analyse it in your way, but we have the lexicalised unit and the combination meakes the meaning of “although”, for me.
In this case, as in many others, we can see why you are indeed Mr Pedantic. Let it go, hero.
Do us an analysis of “Let’s” will you MrP? One that would be useful to learners of English.
e.g.
Let’s go.
Let’s eat.
Let’s grab the OED and the Cambridge, shall I? 
You take it too personally. The structure is the matter under consideration, not your particular usage.
MrP
Those are from this website. I guess some of them must be concerned with “personal usage”, right?
So, for you, MrP - if we may use a personal address approach - these are interchangeable, are they?
Much as I like your idea, I’m sorry to say that I have to reject it.
Although I like your idea very much, I’m sorry to say that I have to reject it.
The answer to your question is in my first post in this thread.
MrP