I've heard before that a lot of GNU programs are stretched like this so that they don't resemble anything from proprietary AT&T unix. E.g. all the extra options in basically everything and the ridiculous optimization of things like yes.
I remember reading that the GNU project was rather keen on avoiding and removing artificial restrictions. In other words, if a feature was useful and reasonable then it should be seriously considered for inclusion. As for the aggressive optimizations that are sometimes seen, I assume it’s just people wanting to improve a tool that’ll be used everywhere, more for fun and/or notoriety than anything else.