I have the 2019 i9 fully maxed out from my employer, and also several M1s (including Pros). When it comes to keeping your hands or feet warm, the i9 is a clear winner. For everything else, it’s the M1 … M3.
Seriously, any M, and especially the Max is a stellar replacement for any Intel MBP, and any workload; especially video, but Blender should perform better as well. The i9 is severly throttled. Otherwise, it’d just melt itself.
I have what he has, and there’s no GPU to speak of on the i9 MBP.
If he needs to run Final Cut Pro, he’s stuck with Apple, so I don’t think that there’s a real GPO to speak of.
I believe that the M1,…2 …3 are the answer, and especially the MAX.