I'm inclined the opposite way, and for completely different reasons.Speaking for myself, I hate a cluttered desktop and if it is cluttered I can't find what I'm looking for so end up using the system menu anyway.
I have a huge monitor (55 inch) compared to many other Minties. I have several computers connected top that single screen, so I make extensive use of Virtual Deskrops, and within those, of VNC.
That involves quickly switching from VD to VD frequently as I move from task to task. I also find common task links on panels and docks are more quickly and easily accessible than using the menu.
To that end, I have a panel along the Right edge of the screen that leaves space at the top and bottom of it, making a nice quick access spot to scroll on my mouse wheel to move to the next Workspace. Obviously I have a Desktop Pager on one panel, but I tent to use that more to let me see at a glance which App is open on what VD. Moving to the next one just seems intuitive moving the mouse to the right and scrolling the wheel.
The neat thing about Mint and other Linux distros is that we have all these options. Mint just does it better than some . .
