I don't understand why vim facilitates that workflow better than emacs. I have thousands of lines of elisp in my configuration files, but it'a all completely invisible if I don't call for it.
I think of it as being similar to CISC [2] vs. RISC [3], or Chinese characters vs. the Latin alphabet.
Emacs is CISC. It starts with a huge vocabulary of functions. If you intend to use it right, then you create new functions to add to the vocabulary. Eventually, it morphs into something that not even other power Emacs users can use. (The programmable editor.)
Vim is RISC. It starts with a small vocabulary of compose-able commands. If you intend to use it right, then you learn to make increasingly complicated sentences out of that vocabulary.
1: For some definition of "barebones" -- Emacs ships with Tetris inside!
2: CISC - Complex Instruction Set Computer
3: RISC - Reduced Instruction Set Computer