I agree wholeheartedly about the "thicker is not always better" statement - my CS LTC kukri is downright anorexic by Busse standards, and that thing not only chops like a champion, but it rides well on the belt, and is a great brush-slasher and slicer as well.

Thick knives have their place, but when they get so heavy that you'll never have them with you, they kind of lose their purpose.

You have hit upon a pet peave of mine. Somehow, knife buyers have been led to believe that thicker and heavier is better. Speaking of knives that are large enough to use for chopping and such, I have quite a few that are just too heavy for anything but chopping. They are slow and cumbersome for clearing or slashing brush. They are awkward for any task but chopping. Having used so many of the big bush knives, I have come to the conclusion that for me, 22 oz is the upper limit of any knife I will carry. I prefer one around 17 oz. The FBM, FFBM, KZ, and several of the large HI khukris are just too heavy to be practical. The extra weight not only makes these knives a bit heavy for carry, it limits their practical uses. Give me a good camp machete or lighter long knife, and I can get some real use out of it. The biggest heaviest choppers have limited utility. Here are some large knives that actually work:

DFLE, Ont Survival Bowie, Western Bowie, Marbles Trailmaker, CS bowie machete, M9LE, Condor Inca knife, Condor combat machete, NMSFNO, Camp Tramp, Ratweiler, Chopweiler, CS Trailmaster, CS Gurkha Kukri, Ranger RD9&RD7, Becker Bk-9, BRKT
Hudson Bay, BRKT golok, Sarsquatch, SODLE, and most machetes.