Fascinating article, Jeff.
I have been experimenting with putting options in the Customizer myself, and I like it. I'm sure many users won't - the simple fact that it's quite narrow will put many off. But I digress...

When I've done experimental work with fuller options panels, many of those are available as plugins. So couldn't someone still "qualify" for being in the repository by breaking their options out into a "recommended plugin" and get the best of both worlds?

Or is the mothership discouraging non-Customizer options plugins as well?

Thanks, Dave