The author(s) of the Other Miner(tm)
have added a lot of stuff that is genuinely useful, recently (getwork and stratum proxy built in, nicer user interface, more useful stats on the screen, author provided OpenWRT build, etc). I still loath your decision to go with WinUSB - the hotplug thing is pointless, and the WinUSB stuff just adds a layer of complication that isn't needed.
He also answers questions in his thread, rather than your stock "README
" answers you seem to give. So in your opinion hotplug is pointless - well I'm glad we got that clear.
Your opinion of hotplug is indeed just that and no more.
And again, you pick up on the least important part of my post. I've bolded the important parts for the hard of thinking.

But, yeah, about the hot plug - who the hell unplugs their miners?

Mine are plugged in 24/7, mining 24/7. Only time mine aren't mining is on the very rare occasion I'm rebooting the host PC. Going by the "post your rig" threads, I think I'm in the majority group who mine the hell out of their machines, and aren't unplugging their miners willy-nilly.