Is the proposition in the OP not pretty much what you're suggesting in your blog? They're currently not using the query builder syntax, instead its pretty much "improving on SQL as strings" with a bunch of the other ORM-like benefits (type safety, autocomplete, etc.)
Perhaps saying "ORM" is a bit of a misnomer, but they're discussing the DX ergonomics of an ORM and acknowledging the exact challenges you describe
Perhaps saying "ORM" is a bit of a misnomer, but they're discussing the DX ergonomics of an ORM and acknowledging the exact challenges you describe