Cerio, you make some good points.
I think the popularity of these forums is a direct result of some of the "option overload" or redundancy for doing certain procedures.

I found that just hiding most of the unused buttons really helped reduce the clutter and simplify my workflow.

Yes you can hide the piano, in BIAB its under Opt.>Preferences> Display 2nd line from top and in RB it's near the bottom of the list in Options (Hide Piano).

Maybe a Hide or Minimize button on the piano would help but then again, it's one more button.

Another possibility could be the to open the programs in either full or stripped down mode where features could be turned on as needed.

Lots of good input in this thread and ways to approach it but in the end it will never please everyone.

Happy Holidays to all!
Carkins