You could achieve the same thing with shell scripts, but one of teamocil’s advantages is that it gives you the simplicity of YAML to build complex layouts.
If I get a chance, I'll give a go at converting the scripts for some of the layouts I use all the time, and see if it sticks.
Spoken like someone who's never actually looked into how complex YAML can be.
Well, I suppose it's possible, but it seems extremely unlikely.