My 2 cents worth on the subject.
I have iClone and 3DXchange as my main animation tools. I use the free version of SketchUp 8 to either build my own props or modify props from the Trimble warehouse for conversion in 3DXchange. I also have Gimp, B2M and ShaderMap2 for working on material files.
The only thing that I export from iClone are video files/images for final post in Avid Media Composer.
I do not produce or use any form of Computer game, and I have no requirement to export any item out of iClone for use in any other software. My only requirement is importing items into iClone for my own use, 3DXchange Pro covers this task very well for me.
I can see no reasonable justification to fork out almost $500.00 for a piece of software that will bring me no benefits whatsoever. 3DXchange Pro is able to open and convert a large number of file types produced by a wide range of software products.
The Pipeline version only offers users the added ability to export models from iClone for use in other animation/game software. Not having it in no way prevents me from using iClone for the purpose of producing animated clips to make a film. Not having it has however left $500.00 in my pocket for other purchases.
The rant is now over. Others may add their own input, but my judgement is - based on your posted usage requirements, that you don't need the Pipeline.
Gerry
System: Win 10 Pro (21H2), Asus X99-E WS, CPU i7-5930K -3,5 GHz, 32 GB DDR4 2666-16 RAM, NVidia GTX 1080 Ti GPU - 11 GB VRAM(Driver Studio-536.99), Samsung 850 Pro 512 GB SSD, 6 TB HD storage.