I think what really fuels a lot of the ongoing frustration over this stuff is that it's a new way of doing things that is much more awkward than the old way. So, not only are some of your old habits invalid, but the functionality has been replaced by something you would rather not use in the first place.
Adding insult to injury here is the fact that the main reason these changes were made in the first place was to get Windows users accustomed to the tablet interface, with the assumption that they would want to use the same OS on their tablet that they use on their desktop. It was to give Windows tablets a leg up in the market vs. iOS and Android devices; it doesn't appear to have been based on a desire to simply improve the desktop users' experience.
I'm sure they also wanted to create a market for touchscreen Windows PCs too. There were probably some marketing people that were convinced that a touchscreen would simply be a standard thing that every PC had in the future. Who knows, it could still happen I guess. If it goes that way they may look like geniuses in 10 years. I'm skeptical though.