Re: 1931 vs 1976.. how about CIELAB?

Could the same be said about CIELAB? As far as I can tell, there are a good number of spaces that are superior in every way, explicitly designed for that very purpose?

Yes. The expert advice is to prefer 1976, but people are in the habit of using 1931, perhaps because they don't know any better, or perhaps because "that's what everyone else uses".