lolit's confirmed that you have no idea what 2 on 1 fights are
I agree but the misconception is that people feel Kurama is just a tool that gives naruto power when infact he is a living partner that supports him as a second party.I dunno if Kurama didn't have Naruto he would still be Kage level with Sage Mode.
But since he was born and had kurama sealed inside of him, of course he would rely on those powers overtime.
You can't expect him to just defeat opponents without using the powers he has. Like asking Sasuke to not use the Sharingan despite it being a power he has
Sharingan (Itachi's eyes) is a tool that gives power
Kurama is an entity that gives power, support and advice