The biggest problem that I have with the self-loops is that it is all too easy to accidentally disconnect one when re-arranging the nodes and not notice that you have done so.
Additionally, the connection popup for additional channels is annoying & tedious; I'd like most of the channels that are there cloistered away so that the NE does not become more chaotic to use, but always having to go there for something simple and straightforward as an "input 2" all the time is, at worst, enough to practically make a body go postal, and, at best, enough to suck what little life is left out of the "fun" of working with Maya. The rigs that I've been making in Maya lately have heavy usage of the NE and the fact that every node appears in the channel box is both scary and irritating to animators. -=T=-
