SQL Staging Tables: Primary Key Clustered or Heap
Having an identity column doesn’t force you to use it as a clustered index key. 

You’re right that heaps work well here. I would consider Thomas Kejser to be the authority on the subject, and it’s good you’ve listed him as one of your resources.

As for fragmentation in heaps - doesn’t happen on insert-only. 

Edit: Go through this article about parallel insert, and notice the comparisons between heaps and clustered indexes. https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/sqlcat/2016/07/21/real-world-parallel-insert-what-else-you-need-to-know/