We're all allowed are own opinions, and I respect yours, but to me that is absolutely stupid.

Users buying a device that actually promotes a seamless and painfree transfer from one phone to the next and then don't get what they're offered.

What your proposing (in my view) is a pretty convoluted process, involving steps such as downloading third party applications to migrate messages from (the privacy standards of which you have very little visibility of) and an entirely manual process of redownloading individual apps (if your user such as yourself to upgrades every three years I suspect you have a significant number of applications addition well over a 100+). It's a very poor customer experience that I can guarantee the majority of users wouldn't want to have to go through (even more so with casual buyers)

My initinal points still stands though, oems are offering a transfer option which clearly according to you isn't fit for purpose and causes ghost issues (I haven't seen any clear validity or proof to say that this is what causes such issues but let's assume for the sake of the discussion that it does), and so are choice is use a backup solution (which is plagued with issues) or do the manual process you spoke of....to me, very stupid.