I essentially agree and most of your points are not in contention-- with the caveat (as GeneralAntilles pointed out) that the traditional development process is often at odds with the FOSS world. But Nokia chose that tightrope, so....
But you very last statement, maybe unwittingly, actually supports what GA and I have been saying. Priority should naturally address majority needs and expectations. I'm simply asserting that current modes of usage are a defacto standard for many, many users and to take such functionality away, particularly in a flagship device, is likely to not sit well with many users. This isn't sheer conjecture either. We're not talking about something nebulous. We're talking about features people use.