So it's a bit misleading to use the stdlib as a guideline because there are reasons we do this in certain spots. E.g. the os module purposefully does function-level imports to make startup cheaper. importlib does this to minimize how many modules need to be frozen into the interpreter.

But regardless of why, the PEP 8 guidance is still accurate as well as wholesale changes aren't allowed for stylistic reasons ("A Foolish Consistency is the Hobgoblin of Little Minds"). So while I appreciate the analysis and find it interesting, I'm closing this issue as there's nothing specific to do here.