AIPREFS: Read Only or Bust

Is it just me, or do about 60% of issues with the functioning of Illustrator (and especially CS it seems) require deleting aiprefs?

I have been working with my aiprefs set to Read Only for several versions now, and I love how robust Illustrator is when the prefs isn't sitting there stewing until the human byproduct hits the appliance.

The only drawbacks:

1. If you make layout changes (opening, closing palettes, moving items in the GUI, etc.) things go back to previous settings next time you open Illustrator (to update, simply delete aiprefs BEFORE closing Illustrator, then close, find the file, set to Read Only);
2. The most recent files when you start Illustrator will be the same list you had when you made the file Read Only (this can be a good thing);
3. The folder that Illustrator defaults to when you go to open a file is the same (again, this is not necessarily bad) as opposed to the last used.

IMO, setting aiprefs to Read Only is worth the drawbacks, especially when faced with the task of having to customize everything anew when prefs craps out. Of course you can save a backup, but I prefer doing it my way.

Any thoughts?

Bert