I generally agree with you about trying to redesign the interface. However, if you exercise some discipline, it can be a worthwhile way to sequence a gradual adoption of Emacs.
This is especially true for users of other programming-style text editors, such as Vi(m). Using Viper or similar can be a good way to ease into Emacs. It's even structured that way -- you can progress through the levels to gradually transition from Vim's way of doing things to the Emacs way. I did this myself.
As I said, it does require the discipline to periodically learn more and more features to progress. Aquamacs offers a similar transition for Mac OS X users.
This is especially true for users of other programming-style text editors, such as Vi(m). Using Viper or similar can be a good way to ease into Emacs. It's even structured that way -- you can progress through the levels to gradually transition from Vim's way of doing things to the Emacs way. I did this myself.
As I said, it does require the discipline to periodically learn more and more features to progress. Aquamacs offers a similar transition for Mac OS X users.