Daily SB Hunt Bills I have no problem with. Relying on someone running the HW Hunt bills I do.
I have the same sentiment with the Kojin versus the Vath and Gundu. I feel balancing against old content to use for current levelling is a dangerous proposition.
The daily Alliance takes longer than a dungeon to run, with what sounds like comparable experience results.

I do understand the sentiment of things being more efficient so players can catch up, but that doesn't mean that those efficient means are without fault (palace is extremely boring, yet it's one of the most efficient means of levelling). And then there's the question of why more efficiency is a bad thing? Why is it bad that players have more value for their time? Because they'll cap out quicker? Well they still have plenty of other things to do then, like level a new job or do any of the wealth of content that is available.