Thanks for putting this in words. This is an example of an innovation that reduces the learning curve to a device, but almost certainly makes it slower for the experienced user. One of the reasons that I use GNU/Linux on my personal computers is precisely because FOSS interfaces tend to not make this trade-off (as evidenced by Emacs, Vim, Blender, Inkscape, and many more). So, I am a bit luke warm towards this new HUD interface (then again, I haven't forced myself to swallow the Unity pill yet, either).
My keyboard doesn't randomly swap around the keys on my keyboard, and I appreciate that because I spent the time learning to touch type. Arguably, adaptively moving keys could be faster for 'hunt and peck' typists, but not for people who have spent some time learning how to type.