We've had a Kohler Sensate for around four years and, while I'm still about 1% nervous, I like it a lot and wouldn't hesitate to buy another one. The tap does have to be in the on position for the hands-free to work, but it shuts itself off after two minutes (I think) if it's still running then. I know that works because if I'm washing lettuce or other things that take awhile it'll shut off. I vaguely remember that I woke up one night and heard the water on and went to shut it off, but honestly I could be remembering a dream, as that's never happened since. The blade spray is excellent, and I like that the shape is easy to wipe clean. With any of these, I'd follow the recommendation often made here to mount the faucet with the handle in the middle instead of on the right--equally useful for right- and left-handers, and all drips from your hand fall into the sink instead of onto the counter.

I have the Kohler Sensate too (Costco model $50 off until 1/31/2021) and have been very happy with it. You can always turn the water off at the base if you want, say, if you're out of town, and the touchless will be non-functional. You can also disable the touchless feature and use it as a conventional faucet. At first I thought the touchless was a bit gimmicky but now I'm a convert - really like this feature. With the Kohler you might want to add the $30 AC adapter (extra) instead of the battery pack that comes with it.

Why? Is turning on/off a faucet so arduous it's worth the extra couple of hundred extra bucks?

I recommend the Tapmaster. It's not touchless but instead operated by foot pedal. It works with any faucet and can be easily deactivated when needed (houseguests).

@johnc777 Not arduous, just convenient with dirty hands. And the faucet was $200 - about the same price as a good quality non-touchless. I thought the same until I got this one.