> Probably depends on the device implementation. I've got multiple other 
> I2C/SMBUS devices and the LM81 seems to be the one that objects.

For the recored, there was just a similar case with a DA9063, but that
one luckily had a bit to switch from SMBus to I2C mode, i.e. no timeout
handling:

  [PATCH v6 1/1] mfd: da9063: Support SMBus and I2C mode