@tlaurion @mkukri My policy is the opposite:
I rule the Libreboot project with pretty much an iron fist and will happily maintain 100+ patches out-of-tree which includes consulting with maintainers of patches when feasible. I hack around any breakage as desired.
From my point of view, Libreboot is #1. It's "Libreboot First".
I prefer upstreaming, but for example GRUB is really bad at merging patches. It often literally taken years. So, I essentially maintain a semi-fork of GRUB, in Libreboot.