When it comes to this particular case, I've heard a few different arguments for why the syntax they use is poor, including the following:
1. The syntax relies on parsing behavior that is expected to change in the future.
2. The syntax they use does not work in one of the major minifiers used throughout the community (the crux of the whole issue to begin with, but certainly a drawback in and of itself)
I have yet to hear any benefit to NOT including a semi-colon to resolve this issue beyond aesthetics, and aesthetics alone is just not a rationalization that I can get behind.