I agree with your statement 100%. When our state requires it, I will be first in line.

Yesterday, I was in a house talking to an electrician buddy of mine and noticed that the low voltage company that prewired the house prewired the PRIMARY smoke detectors system with 22/4!!!! WTF!!!! We are talking about life safety here folks. By the time you have 10-15 smokes in the house, do you think it will work? I wouldn't want to bet on it.
The builder of this house is an old builder of mine that we decided to walk away from, because it was always about price and bending down and taking it up the A&S. So he hires a new company with the nice vans and decent shirts and yet in my eyes, just another hack operation. And yet the builder has no clue.