How are you deciding between vector, graph, hybrid, and vectorless RAG?

I’ve been building RAG Orchestration Studio around one core idea: RAG is not just a vector database pattern, it is a retrieval architecture problem.

A lot of teams still start with embeddings, a vector DB, and top-k retrieval, then try to force the problem into that shape. But many real-world retrieval systems depend on structure, relationships, metadata, temporal context, and precision requirements.

I’m curious how others here are thinking about retrieval design in practice.

When you work on RAG systems, how do you decide between:

• vector RAG

• graph RAG

• hybrid RAG

• structural or vectorless RAG

Are there specific signals, use cases, or tradeoffs that push you toward one pattern over another?

Would love to hear how others are approaching this.