I have followed this thread with some interest, although I have never touched Windows 8 personally.
As a user who values "lean, clean, and mean" very highly, I am tantalized by the improved underlying OS, even as I can understand why they have to crap it all up - obviously - they want to make their money after you buy the OS, not on the OS itself.
For me, one-time purchases are palatable, while ongoing subscriptions are most distasteful. More specifically, I want to get everything the way I want it, then just use it.
Running a Microsoft update every other Tuesday or so is not too cumbersome, but I do not want to feel like I am walking on quicksand.
And I fear being held hostage to an internet connection. Every couple of years, my family and I lose our internet connection for half a week, and it is traumatic. The more I can keep locally and the less I have to depend on the cloud, the better.
Don't get me wrong, I love all the online utilities, Dropboxes, and Google Docs and ways to store and share, but I want those options to be ancillary, not core.
There have always been "Classic Theme" and "hide" options and so I am very sorry to hear that M$ has decided to stay in your face all the time.