I've posted two comments discussing default behavior. Too many ("over and over")? And I can see several others raising the same issue in this very thread -- all wrong to focus on that issue?
My main concern was raised in the longer thread with you. It is negative because I don't see this as a positive move. Nobody explained why changing the default behavior is a good move (even if it's easy to add back), or what it has to do with a desire for modular internals (since those don't preclude that).
In any case, Babel has been a valuable tool and I really hope this direction comes out for the best.