That is one way to see it, and you do have some valid points to consider regarding the power up strategy. I am the one who is still saving up the liquid hive and waiting for the power up day to power it up all at once.
The reason is the badge (there's still some feeling of achievement when I got it maybe should do 10 Hive next time), also for a small account like me powering up in a bulk once a month has some pride in it. LOL
But reading your post with those points, maybe I also should consider changing my strategy, maybe for the next month or so. : )
Yeah I liked the badges but I've got hundreds of the badges lol so I don't need them anymore. I think it's good to power up regularly and it's not a huge deal to do it every month but I prefer to do it whenever I can now. Seems to work ok but who knows!