well, it depends: yes- the scene is "exported" to the standalone. but you can be very flexible with this. you export the geometry once and then only "overwrite" e.g. the things you are changing. if you only change material, the geo does not need to be exported - so it becomes very quick to start (there is an "overwrite geometry" checker. you can also pick which one you want to overwrite "selected only" for example makes sense when you changed UV mapping on a certain object)
of course you are getting rid of the interactive mode - so it is a bit of a time travel back 2 years. but test renders worked out back then as well, no? :)
it does take a bit longer than in max to open the VFB, but for my feeling it is acceptable.
well - my journey right now also led me here for an alternative of the max. actually to be more flexible on the dcc and renderer side.
exporting the scene for me opens a lot more flexibility. you are not dependent on the max anymore, can change quickly rendersettings in the texteditor, etc.
it is different approach but it makes things also a bit easier.