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Redeye, Your question is a good one and i dont think is ever defined. As you point out its more turned into "what do you want to do?" etc. Generally, I consider a sturdy tripod one that will hold a OTA/scope without wobbling while you adjust focus looking through eyepiece. That is the view doesnt wobble from side to side. Typically when you buy a telescope package they eyepieces are low grade as is the tripod and mount, this is where cost cutting and profitting is made.
I can appreciate its rarely possible to go see and test the tripods in your budget. An assembled setup I consider needs to be rock solid to be considered sturdy. So looking through an eyepiece you can tap the scope or tripod gently and the view has little or no wobble visible. Also the quicker the wobble returns to a solid view the more sturdy it is. Its common for people to look at the maximum load weight spec of a tripod and pick something thats barely above the weight of the gear they want to use on it. This means that setup is being used at or close to its limit which really means its all being stressed, not that it spontaneously collapses. Its more that parts may bend, gears and electrics are strained and likely to be burnt out and fail. For both a chance of sturdiness and accuracy its best to find a tripod that seems like overkill, something that can handle a vastly greater load of gear so that your piddling little gear is pretty much unnoticable to the tripod.
A vital part of owning gear, especially portable rigs, is to properly maintain them. Clean, lubricate and check/tighten all fasteners to make sure they stay fixed. A sturdy setup should never rattle anywhere if you picked it up and shook it.
No you dont "Need" a telescope tripod or even any tripod really. The purpose of a tripod is to provie a rock solid base for a mount and OTA to sit on top of. You could use a bean bag, rice bags have been used for decades by photographers to provide a sturdy base to plonk their camera onto on uneven surfaces. Audiophiles have levitation plate to keep turntablesphysically isolated from vibrations reaching it.
A heavy tripod gives stability through inertial dampening Which is why a piere is used in permanent setups and portable piers exist but at the cost of weight. The advantage of tripods is usually the legs can be adjusted and having three single point contact points means it can be used on any surface, doesnt need to be level and smooth. With adjustable legs thes top of the tripod can be made level for the mount to put attached to.
Which is why putting money into a solid tripod is important. It doesnt matter how much you spend on titanium and carbon fiber doohickies you put on top, if the tripod base transmits vibrations and wobbles you will never overcome that limitation or experience the best your mount and OTA can offer.
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