Hello, FYI a completely untested patch for debian-installer component "user-setup" now exists that should be able to add the needed overrides to enable "sulogin --force" when installs are made with root account locked. (Note: This needs systemd >= v240.) (This doesn't take care of already existing installations that upgraded, which will need to be handled in some other way. For now people who want to use it are recommended to add the needed overrides themselves manualy.)
If someone is willing to test this, then feedback would be appreciated! See https://salsa.debian.org/ah/user-setup/commits/wip/rootpassword Regards, Andreas Henriksson