I agree fully on the subject of overall IO. The overall IO Capability exceeds the outgoing model by far.
The only thing I don't like is the "need" for even more adapters now. I could handle buying stuff for TB2 as I still had regular USB and could chain more USB ports of the TB2 ports. Now they have went for absurdly thin, removing standard USB / TB2, requiring that I juggle more dongles to achieve the same connectivity my 2015 model does.
As others have asked of Apple in the other thread, would it have hurt for them to make it slightly thicker, given us some legacy ports, more battery, and perhaps offer a BTO version with 32GB or more RAM?
I don't think death to Apple at this point, but, this update has a few items that have put the brakes on my ordering a new laptop.
Very reasonable! Different wants/needs for different people. I would VERY much not want it to be thicker, and I don't want legacy ports. Port transitions always hurt. They have to happen. I'd suggest looking for a single mini-dock with multiple ports: expect the available selection to balloon in the months ahead!
I for one rarely hang anything off the side of my laptop. I'm OK with a dongle when the need arises. I'm more than OK with a step toward an all-TB-3/USB-C future. But I do know others desire's are different.
(And remember: you won't be achieving merely the same connectivity as last year, you'll be achieving better: you'll have gained USB-C and Thunderbolt 3. That may well matter during the life of the system.)