I don't optimize for keeping the suite small. I'm biased because I've been doing TDD for two decades, but I think automated testing matters more when agents can produce more code than a person can realistically inspect line by line. I treat test code as production code. Mindrealm reviews the tests too: weak assertions, mock abuse, flaky tests, state leaks, and public functions or methods with no corresponding test. If an agent spends time satisfying a valid test, that's part of the task. If a test no longer protects behavior we care about, I decide whether it gets fixed or deleted.

For a prototype or proof of concept, who cares. Ship it without tests. If a team has to maintain it, the test suite is part of the product.