This is the last 'justification' post I'm going to contribute to this thread because it's completely unproductive. Any answer is a 'right' answer depending on individual miners wants and needs. That's why it's great having so many pools to choose from.
First, I wanted to thank you for providing some explanation. I am sorry if any of this discussion appeared to you as unproductive. I can assure you that I found it very interesting and informative.
I am particularly grateful for sharing with me the link
https://bitcoil.co.il/pool_analysis.pdf about the various pool reward systems -- it brings me back my kindest memories as an undergraduate student. I had a great professor for Probability Theory.
I wanted to toss out another, quote open-ended question (and again, none on this is directed against you or your pool in any way): Is there a "fair" way of rewarding miners without punishing those who may stop mining from time to time due to technical difficulties, faulty hardware, etc.?