I totally agree with you on how the die size(s) impacts the pressure/tonnage applied to a work piece. There are many variables that can come into play with a press. Even with Orange Crush (my 80 ton press) there are times when I am working on very large billets, with a lot of surface area, that even it has difficulty moving.
Your mention of those folks who don't need anything overly large, is absolutely valid too. I know for myself, the size of steel I work, and/or Damascus billets I create, have always been limited by the size of my equipment. For years I used a "C" frame press that put out 24 tons. It was limited to a starting billet of 1" wide x 4" long X 25-30 layers. That was also about the biggest billet I could fit into my (then) welding forge. As time passed, and particularly when I got my hands on Orange Crush, it gave me that capability to start with billets of 1 1/2" wide X 8" long X 50-60 layers. That in turn, forced me to enlarge my welding forge to accept at least those size billets....
Condensed version....most of use will work within the limits of our tools.
All that being said, there is still a huge portion of folks out there who simply have not idea of the forces they are dealing with, are using something they call a "forging press", that is just waiting to blow up in their face(s).
All I'm saying is be aware of the dangers of the tool(s) you are using, and do your best to mitigate those dangers. The moment you loose respect for any tool, that is when it will "get you". BE SAFE! I'd much rather be talking too a person, than about them.