[cptskippy]

> I like control, so the idea of voluntarily putting something in place that could magically shove its way in front of my code and whisk the user off to an error page just smells wrong.

I feel the same way as you however I've found that when working on a large code base with a lot of junior developers or contractors who lack qualities like discipline, attention to detail, consistency, and convention; it's often easier to just wire up all of the important parts behind the scenes.

It's also useful when you're managing a number of projects that are primarily maintained by junior developers and you only drop in occasionally to do the heavy lifting.