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Well, you always have USB to fallback on in case of waiting on a fix for thunderbolt.

Here is the Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter

So how do you normally deal with that situation, you could hook every synth up to a mixer, but then you are buying a mixer. Another option is to use a patch bay. Holy crap Patch bays are WAY more complicated than you'd think. But, one way I imagine you could use them is, say you want to use synth 3,5 and 1. Then you just run a small 6 inch cable from 3,5 and 1, to inputs 1 2 and 3 (which are routed in the back to your interface. That way you only spend $100 or $200 (for 2 patch bays), rather than $1000 on a good mixer.

The mobo you are looking at is good. It's certified and the TB3 port is built in rather than an AIC. I'd recommend that route since the AIC cards have been problematic.

The only thing I'm worried about, is if converting from TB3 to TB2 causes an issue that needs a driver update, but you always have the USB fallback in case that happens and you need to contact support. Another reason to buy something newer, rather than something 15 years old like you were talking about.

So yeah, just find a solution for selecting your synths and your golden.

I've seen pretty mixed reviews of the Cornings, which are recommended by UAD and RME, I think because they're the only option available AFAIK. OWC had an optical cable at one point.

I feel like I'd need to have a spare on hand for my application, which I don't think I can afford - https://www.amazon.com/Optical-Cables-CorningTM-AOC-MMS4CVP010M20-ThunderboltTM/dp/B00HSTC496

You cannot buy an adapter that's USB, it needs to talk Thunderbolt. You need this. I've bought two of them and there's no software, it's just plug and play (I only have TB2 gear because not much TB3 stuff out there yet).

The reason you can't find TB2 mainboards are because "it's not the newest tech". The good news is that you'll be future proofed while enjoying the Motu.

Ninja Edit: Yeah so apparently it can push all the data via USB2. So Thunderbolt is, essentially, a gimmick.

It's a digital cable, so quality is not really an issue.

Now to go deeper into it, TB2 and mDP port uses the same interface, so if you really need TB2(as in data transfer), $29 is about on par with what other vendors offer. But if you just need it for 4K out, a mDP cable is plenty good, and cheap-but-good ones are available.

mDP to mDP

mDP to full size DP

I like this brand a lot, they haven't failed me yet, and also cheap.

Corning makes optical cables, though I believe they max out at 20 Gbps right now.

This just started shipping.

You're correct about the speeds.

No problem 👍 If you're using Firewire enclosures for 2.5" or 3.5" hard drives you can get USB-C to Serial ATA cables and possibly bypass a Dock or Hub completely. The great thing about using 2.5" SSDs/HDDs is you can buy a Thunderbolt 3 RAID enclosure and have multiple hard drives show up as one hard drive.

They do exist! Here is one to try:
https://www.amazon.com/DisplayPort-LANBO-Thunderbolt-Adapter-Aluminum/dp/B076CFDF2R/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1521988372&sr=1-3&keywords=mini+displayport+to+thunderbolt+3&dpID=41K8-2hk77L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Edit to say: the adapter exists, but as u/thespotts has detailed it will not be a viable solution to this issue. Many apologies!