Formal Pivots: Be That As It May & Others

• Fossilized Subjunctive Mood: The phrase Be that as it may is a prime example. This is a remnant of the present subjunctive, a verb mood used for hypothetical or non-factual statements. The full thought is something like, "Let the situation be as you say it is." In modern English, it has become a fixed, unchangeable adverbial phrase that signals a concession before a firm counter-argument. It is grammatically independent from the main sentence.

• Absolute & Participial Constructions: Having said that and That being said are common pivots derived from participial phrases. That being said is a nominative absolute, a construction consisting of a noun/pronoun and a participle that modifies the entire main clause. Having said that functions identically, though it's technically a dangling participle that has become accepted as a standard sentence adverb through widespread use. Both serve to acknowledge a preceding statement before transitioning away from it. Granted also functions as a participle, often used to mean "It is granted that..."

• Prepositional & Adverbial Functions: Notwithstanding is a uniquely versatile pivot. It can function as a preposition meaning "despite," in which case it must be followed by a noun phrase (Notwithstanding the evidence...). It can also function as an adverb meaning "nevertheless," often placed after the clause it modifies (The effort was immense; the results were negligible, notwithstanding.). This dual nature requires careful syntactic handling.

• Subordinating Conjunctions: Albeit is a formal conjunction that means "although" or "even if." Its key grammatical feature is that it typically introduces a reduced clause or a phrase, not a full finite clause. For example, in The presentation was a success, albeit a costly one, the phrase a costly one qualifies the success. It offers a way to add a concessive detail without the weight of a full although clause, making the prose more concise and elegant.

It's a fossilized present subjunctive clause. The subjunctive mood is used for non-realities or hypotheses. Here, be is the subjunctive form of to be. The phrase essentially means, "Let the situation be as it may be," functioning as a concessive adverbial that is now a fixed, unchangeable idiom.

In modern usage, yes, they function identically as sentence adverbs to introduce a contrasting point. Grammatically, that being said is a nominative absolute, while having said that is technically a dangling participle that has become fully idiomatic. There is no significant difference in meaning or formality.

You can do this when using notwithstanding as an adverb meaning "nevertheless." For example: "The candidate had little experience; he impressed the interview panel, notwithstanding." This is a very formal and somewhat less common construction than its prepositional use, but it is perfectly correct.

It depends on the structure you want to use.

• Use albeit to introduce a qualifying phrase or reduced clause: He was a good leader, albeit an unconventional one.
• Use although to introduce a full clause (with a subject and verb): Although he was an unconventional leader, he was effective.
• Use despite (or in spite of) to introduce a noun or noun phrase: Despite his unconventional methods, he was an effective leader.

It is not archaic, but it is certainly on the more literary and formal end of the spectrum. You will encounter it more in formal writing and literature than in spoken English. It often carries a slightly stronger sense of contrast than despite that, implying that the outcome is surprising in light of the circumstances.