Fair to say in view of its remarkable properties that you shouldn't use in some apps e.g. chipper knife bolts?
You absolutely should use something, and i use it on most sealing surfaces as well. Bolts are tightened to a set torque, basically you can calculate the squeezing force of a bolt by the torque (it's an inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder), and what you're actually doing is stretching the bolt in the plastic deformation phase, so the steel itself stretched to hold it in place. If you don't lubricate the threads the coefficient of friction is much higher, so your torque will be much higher as well to achieve the same clamping force. And since that force is enough to physically stretch steel you can imagine the force that's carried on the little nubs of metal.
This stretching needs to happen for the bolt to do its job, which is why critical bolts are only used once, they are stressed hard enough in use that the metal has likely work hardened, and the threads act as a sharp point to start a fracture. The forces to do this are incredible as you can imagine, and most really critical stuff the exact lubricant is specified, and i would imagine most chippers have that, along with the fastener specs, likely a proprietary bolt but can be cross referenced or measured. Studs are even stronger because they're completely uniform so a better heat treatment is guaranteed, and I've even used ones that were Teflon coated too. So at a minimum some lubricant has to be used to even install a bolt correctly, as all torque specs are for lubricated conditions.
Which one is a hard thing to answer, but it has to be something. Oil is fine, but it will wash away and the stuff will rust together. Grease works pretty good, and they've even developed assembly greases specifically designed for the assembly process, and most products you buy with critical stuff come slathered with it. The problem is that to remove the bolt later you're gonna have to apply a ton of torque, and by then the threads are have rust packed in them to quickly render the little remaining grease into an abrasive powder. All this creates a ton of heat, so much so that the threads weld themselves together, called galling. Without anything you will likely gall them up before you get to the install torque, and coming out, lol good luck. And this is what sets neversieze apart from the rest, because it's not only an oily mess, it has powdered metal in it to prevent this galling process. There's several different types, aluminum for aluminum, nickel and copper for general use, and even molybdenum for the real stuff. It will remain effective even through a bunch of heat and cool cycles, where all the metal is expanding and warping, the true test of a bolt.
I'm not kidding, I've come up to bolts figuring out how i was gonna cut them off and been completely amazed by how easy they came off. Ones painted over so many times the paint stays on the nut in shape of the bolt, ones completely rusted away behind the nut so you cut the extra threads off and it comes right off. 40 plus years in steam service, no paint, come right off. It's stupid effective.
Thread locker is another option, and very well may be what you're supposed to use since you kinda want them to stay. Likely one that comes apart easily after a bit of heat, because there's a bunch of different types of those too, all with different applications, they even have one that siezes parts together so well it's as good or better than a press fit. Paint was the old school way, and works now too, and I've even heard of the wrap it in sock full of rock salt and spraying it down so it rusts trick for stuff you want locked without welding or punching threads. Messing them up with channel locks is used on other applications with mild vibration, 1 time use normally but forcing the nut off fixes the threads. But for important stuff use the right stuff, engines the same way.
For me personally, i tend to go with the neversieze for pretty much everything, and if it's critical it gets torqued. I plan on maintaining it, and I'm too tired to fight shit. My chipper drum is machined with blind taps, balanced, and has been out of production for decades. I cleaned and chased the threads with a tap and oil, and then used neversieze, because fixing that would be a giant pain. I recheck torque a few times, but i plan on removing them again at some point. Most gaskets get painted too, and then you don't have to scrape nearly as much. It will help fill irregularities to make a more secure seal, and I've gotten away with just coating a slightly torn gasket with the stuff and they're still holding to this day. Brake calipers where they slide, screw threads on jack stands and trailer jacks, outdoor hinges, basically anywhere that the navy would grease in their paint and grease maintenence method (moves gets grease, doesn't then gets paint) is a candidate for the stuff.
Btw there's another trick with using the stuff, as it comes from the factory is wonderful but it is messy. If you let it dry out a bit it develops a stiffer consistency, making it much easier to use and paint on the threads. Some guys just put a dab on and go letting the spinning spread it out for them, and you can get away with that for some stuff, but you're not really getting it in there where it's needed. So i paint everywhere i don't want rust, so pretty much all the threaded part, really working it in the threads. The thickened neversieze carries more of the metal powder, so galling is even less likely. It won't drip on you, and will dry onto the surface kind of like a stubborn dirty dish, which protects the steel from rusting, so well in fact they wrap pipeline pipes with a neversieze filled fabric wrap when it is likely to have the paint chipped coming up out of the ground like a gravel lot (now that's a damn mess). As you probably guessed a penetrating oil restores it to a more liquid state again, and you can do that in the can as well so don't throw out the old stuff yet. The biggest thing is getting the metal powder on there, that's what does the work after the grease and oil leave.
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