Agreed the design is allow an emergency release... it is just that MagSafe2 releases MUCH more easily (especially in the vertical dimension) than MagSafe1.
The ideal (most symmetrical) connector shape would be round or square. The MS1 was a rectangle... and the MS2 is a more exaggerated rectangle. As the rectangle gets "thinner"... it starts becoming too easy to remove in the vertical (i.e. long rectangle edge). Furthermore... the new "T" style MS2 further exacerbates the problem by providing a longer lever than the previous "L" style connector.
Note that Apple orginally sold MS1 with "T" connectors, and later improved them (with the original MBA) to "L" connectors. Most people preferred the "L". I am not too sure why they went back to the "T" shape with MS2... possibly to avoid confusion between the new MS2 and most of the installed base of MS1.
In any case... If Apple was to introduce MS2 with the "L" shape... I would immediately buy a few. I currently use a MS1 "L" connector with a MS1-to-MS2 converter... and while it is "kludgy"... I still like it better than the new MS2 "T" connectors.
/Jim