I don't think they'll change it anytime soon. I don't like it at all, and I agree that it is almost dangerous, even though I sort of understand the rationale seeing how non-technical users handle volumes.
It's also kinda of hard to expose in a GUI: a checkbox with "Flat Volumes" is not really self-explanatory. For now I've just added .config/pulse/daemon.conf the config files I drag from one installation to the next.
Non-technical people do a whole lot of strange things. But then i likely do so to in the eyes of someone formally trained in computer operations. Frankly i have learned to grin and bear with them, thanks to being tech support for my parents for over a decade.