I think another solution to this problem is reverting WordPress so that local avatars are supported by core while Gravatar support becomes plugin territory.

I would let site owners choose if they want local profile pictures or gravatars

I’ve always wondered why the ability to add a gravatar from the WordPress profile editor was never included.

Just use 10up's Simple Local Avatars and be done with it. It gives you the ability to use a local default avatar and an option to fallback to Gravatar for those who have Gravatar accounts setup.