I'll take compile-time dependency over unchecked run-time dependency (almost) every time!

Ya, if you design relationships as a DAG then those sorts of compile time dependencies don't matter. Of course sometimes it can't be avoided (Phoenix router, ecto relationships) the router isn't updated very often and schemas don't have too far a reach (at least they don't if you keep them in their contexts).

I don't avoid import but I generally I strive to import one module where I'm going to be using many functions. I rarely bother with `only` unless it's absolutely necessary due to conflicts otherwise specifying `only` is a good indication I don't even need to import.