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Now why are Ismailis considered kaafir irrespective of whether they are a scholar or follower?

The reason is that Isma'ilis, whether a follower or a scholar, all believe in things that are kufr, whereas many Shi'a laymen do not. Isma'ili laymen and scholar alike say that there are 3 prayers. Both groups reject the salah in the way that it is performed amongst the Sunnis and even the Shi'a - their "prayer" is basically doing du'as three times a day. They reject many fundamentals of Islam and they are taught this from birth. When Muslims are kids, regardless of whether one is born to Shi'as or Sunnis, they know about the five prayers (the Shi'as permit combining Dhuhr and 'Asr calling it Dhuhrayn and Maghrib and 'Isha calling it Maghribayn), fasting in Ramadhan, etc. They also hold the Qur'an in high esteem. The Agha Khani Isma'ilis, for example, hold their Agha Khans to be higher in status than the Qur'an - though they may deny this when confronted.