Wonderful, thanks for taking the time to respond. We're all for simplicity and the best user experience possible. Its what makes Shopify so great.
This specific change does seem to be for the best overall for the platform. Our concern was not the change itself but rather the lack of transparency on the update. Gets us thinking... if this slid through silently, what else may have?
As a business, we want to be sure we understand the Shopify platform in as much detail as possible, so we can deliver the best experiences to our shop owners. An ongoing list of the latest changes like this one would certainly be an invaluable resources for all the Shopify designers and developers out there.