This was my impression after moving to macOS after years of using Windows and Gnome as well.
The "document-oriented" window management and the fact that you can Cmd+X selected text, but not selected files is deeply bizarre.
The "document-oriented" window management and the fact that you can Cmd+X selected text, but not selected files is deeply bizarre.
For a declaration of my own bias, as a kid I was put in front of macs, so it impressed me during important years (8-15 years old). I don't use any macs nowadays. I use file-cutting-enabled linux systems.
With this background I don't see that opening files or folders with the return key as intuitive at all, I don't see the connection. It's not a bad idea, just an arbitrary choice like others. Command+O I can understand too, O is for Open and on the mac they decided to introduce (i.e. invent and teach the user) a universal action open that works the same for files and programs (no separate open vs execute). That's a positive example of consistency, at least.
Enter for rename is perfectly sensible to me. Personally, I use it more than Cmd+Down to open files.
The Cmd+C + Cmd+Shift+V paradigm for cut/paste makes just as much sense as the Windows paradigm. Either way it's a just copy and delete function. Would you rather choose to delete at the time of the "paste" or at the "copy?" I don't see a clear reason to prefer one over the other.