Forcing a certain level of quality is fine. Protecting users from scamware is also fine. Apple goes far beyond this. They nanny the user and force upon them what Apple perceive is right and wrong.
I got my first iMac 5 years ago and I thought Apple were awesome and innovative. Now I just find them overbearing. Like success has lead to the corporate types making decisions instead of those that originally drove development and change.
I have an iPad for testing. I avoided getting a new Apple computer in favour of a Linux computer. First time I turned on my latest computer i felt somewhat liberated being away from an Apple logo. Looking back I had the same feeling firing up my Mac for the first time. I felt free of a virus filled Windows and I remember thinking that the future had finally arrived.
Its interesting how feelings and perceptions change.