Except if I can't understand your use case, none of the complexity related to it is needed, so it's all excess and must be removed. After all, we have a Model T, so why do we need a Ford Focus? They both move you along under engine power.
In other words, a lot of engineers seem to have a Procrustean Bed and a deep need to cut problems down to size in the name of cutting solutions down to size.
Things like hydraulic power steering is a good thing. It is there for a reason, and taking it away does not make better engineering. It is however being replaced with electronic power steering, for the exact engineering reasons. Before we could make reasonable good electronic power steering, there was nothing to take away from the hydraulic steering, but taking away the power steering itself, would be a step back.