We definitely focus on ease-of-backup vs. choices-for-backup. One of the initial things we found we the "pick and choose files & folders to backup" approach is what kept most people from setting up a backup at all because they were confused by the process.
Having said that, we offer the ability to exclude folders and filetypes if you have certain things you want to backup later.
(Not disagreeing with anything you're saying...just fyi.)
I know from a product design and engineering standpoint why you have made the service that way. Every user have unique best backup strategy- it is a nightmare to accommodate all. Just proving the simple second best strategy to all is a good decision. And as I said I know what have I purchased and I am fine with the service. I stopped juggling directories and file types after couple of reinstalls though - those settings are not transferred on backup transfer and setting them all again is too much PITA.
Backups transfers are also a minor pain point - the error horse (on freshly installed BB on windows) and when, how and why it disappears and allows you to do the backup is still a mystery.
I guess that the BB cloud storage will solve some of the customization problems though - if you are power enough user you could write a custom strategy on top of the API.
Having said that, we offer the ability to exclude folders and filetypes if you have certain things you want to backup later.
(Not disagreeing with anything you're saying...just fyi.)
Gleb from Backblaze