Actually, that's a great comparison. I don't use either of those (yeah, I said it) because of their arcane interfaces. I don't doubt for a second that wizards with those programs, and LaTeX, can do great things, but IDEs exist for the same reason word processors do - to make it easier to focus on creating.
Yes, but if you pay the up-front cost of learning the interface (which, far from being arcane, is actually designed the way it is because it's ergonomic), then you can focus even more on creating than the person using the IDE. While they are stuck debugging some autocomplete error in Eclipse, you've already finished your code project, wrote a letter to your mom, dabbled in an interactive R sessions to teach yourself R, and played Tetris, all without touching the mouse.
IDEs exist for the same reason 7/11 exists. Convenience. You pay a higher price (lost productivity) to experience certain comforts (clicking a button instead of issuing a keystroke command).
My experience has universally been that IDEs only get in the way of focusing on creating. They might be necessary when you are literally just beginning with software and you need a lot of scaffolding to help you -- and I don't think anyone would begrudge university students using IDEs.
But not using a power editor once you are an experienced programmer is hard to understand. I mean, it's so important that it was even included as a whole chapter in The Pragmatic Programmer.
Paying the up-front costs of proficient editor usage is like paying the up-front costs of wearing braces so you can have straight teeth or wearing correcting shoes so you can walk properly. Of course it's more convenient in an absolute sense to simply not wear braces or corrective shoes. But that's not the point. The point is that the value you get from the outcome (e.g. straight teeth, proper walking, or dramatically increased productivity when developing) is far greater than the cost.
In other words, I think you're using a hyperbolic discount function. You are placing such a high value on absolutely immediate "focus on creating" that you incorrectly discount how much more focus on creating you would be able to do with the power of a real editor framework.
Actually, that's a great comparison. I don't use either of those (yeah, I said it) because of their arcane interfaces. I don't doubt for a second that wizards with those programs, and LaTeX, can do great things, but IDEs exist for the same reason word processors do - to make it easier to focus on creating.