OK, I buy it that the diversion effect of large-scale airborne capabilities is useful in conventional war. The enemy needs to keep reserves far to the rear.
That's not exactly what you want him t do when you intend to do some old school maneuver warfare, but in other cases it's desirable.

The other point that many seem to raise is the deployability by air and the virtue of having a brigade ready for immediate deployment to everywhere.

Well, that's not a requirement that only an airborne (sorry about mixing the terminology, wouldn't have happened in my native language) can fulfill. 101st and 10th should be able to do that as well. It was even quite what was proposed in the Stryker brigade concept.
Anyway, 82nd is still ill-prepared forf that role as far as I know for it lacks foreign language negotiation capabilities and heavy weapons for both irregular as well as regular warfare missions immediately after deployment.
Operations in english or spanisch speaking countries with ill-equipped/ill-trained opponents are within its abilities (basically carribbean adventures).
Again, as far as I know.

Well, my own feeling about airborne forces is that they should prepare for airborne operations of battalion to slightly smaller than brigade sizes. They should not have heavy weapons like M777 in such actions as air support should be assured if you were able to use transport planes in the first place. Quick reinforcement with heavy or air deployable units should always be assured.

The other orientation that I'd propose is being especially proficient in forest and urban combat. They could be added as motorized units to heavy divisions which certainly lack infantry component in several possible terrain types.

Finally, they could be used as air-deployable forces (as well as other forces should be air-deployable to a really high degree, up to two divisions overall in the case of the USA, imho). In that case, they can make good use of an air-deployable but not airborne support element. Artillery like truck-mounted Caesar, for example (not HIMARS because of its logistical inefficiency). This would be the classical tripwire and ally reassurance mission, or without much fire support a very quick reaction force for cases like Rwanda genocide.