I don't think gamers are demanding invasive anti-cheats they just don't want to see cheaters in their games which is a different thing

No one like anti-cheats, some games even run worst with them, and because of that people who pirate the game get a way better experience most of the time than the ones who pay for they games. Also some anti-cheats lock you from playing in multiples devices in a short period of time, so if you share your library with your family/friends orif you like to play on different devices, you may be locked out of the game for a few days