As a European this whole American microwaved cheese on noodles thing was always a prime cliché example of classless American quisine (I think for Americans too).
Boy am I happy to have gotten over that snobbishness! Apart from many American dishes that blew me away macaroni and cheese wasn’t one of it (since it’s not served in US diners ... i think). So I tried it out at home (leftover noodles and some cheese) and I have to say: it was really good. The melt is perfect. I don’t know of any technique capable of merging noodles with melted cheese in such an immersive way other than with a microwave (radiating oven heat will have a different effect).