Lewis Lang wrote:

True art conforms to the artist not any ad hoc art rules, no
matter how well or long codified. [...]

Sounds plausible. But I'm not aiming to create true art.

Relying too much on the rule of thirds, Golden Mean or any other
rule or guideline is a recipe for garbage. [...]

You're basically saying the same as Steve does. I think Phil Stripling
indirectly puts up a good point about that. He wrote: "I majored in
drama, and several courses mentioned the Golden Section in
various ways.". What does it say? It says that some educated people
find that it is a good thing to learn about the rules. Other educated
people (or great artists or whomever we value the words of) might say
that rules are garbage.

There is, as you say, no rule that applies to all. Well, the same can
be said for using rules: For some it's a bad idea, for others they'll
help a lot.

James Gifford put it quite well: "...but I've worked with many talented
and hardworking people who simply could not make a design or a photo
"work" without following rules they had learned. The rules have a
place; that some people have the rules built right into their
perception doesn't change that.".

Be free. Don't be a slave to anybody's art rules, not even your own.
There are no rules in art, only choices/decisions. [...]

If I were trying to produce art, I would probably find your speech
fitting. But I'm not. At least not art as a truly individual expression
for its own sake. My primary purpose of researching rules are to take
pictures that pleases their viewers more than they do now. It I were to
put a label on it, I'd say that I'm aiming to be better at documenting
situations.

And if you are not making photos for yourself, just who are you
making them for?

Myself, Friends and family.