Part of the issue here is just how many different features are getting packed into a surround receiver today. We're not only talking about having more stereo analog inputs than one person might need (like that AUX input when the TAPE and PHONO took care of your input needs just fine), we're talking about so much more. Manufacturers have to decide where they put their money (and thus their product costs), and the list is really kind of staggering.

You "need" HDMI v1.3, so you need an audio DSP section that will process and when necessary decode a plethora of formats (PCM stereo, PCM multichannel, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, DTS, DTS-ES, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD High Resolution, DTS HD Master Audio, and maybe even SACD DSD). You also need matrix processing modes (DTS NEO:6, Dolby Pro Logic II/IIx, maybe some weird "DSP" modes like Jazz or Stadium, 5 Stereo, 7 Stereo). We also "need" room correction, so that DSP needs to be able to offer something similar to Audyssey or Trinnov - or at a minimum, something like Cirrus's in-house room EQ (sometimes called SNAP and sometimes re-branded by a specific manufacturer). We also need robust bass management, channel trim, distances adjustments, and an audio buffer for audio/video sync. That's just the audio DSP section. Now we need to allow for analog bypass of that audio DSP section, out of respect for the trusty turntable as well as other sources that are natively analog or are using a really good DAC. To feed in signals, you need to include several HDMI inputs, some coaxial and optical inputs, some stereo analog inputs, and a 7.1 analog input (although I can see a time in the not too distant future when the 7.1 analog starts to fade away).

We also have a video section. We need those same HDMI inputs already mentioned, but we also need some component video and some legacy composite and s-video inputs. Many of us would like to have the ability to keep things simple by having all of our disparate video sources lumped together into a single output, which means transcoding composite and s-video to component and converting those analog signals to digital for the HDMI output. (Of course, some folks want to bypass video switching in the processor, so they actually have no interest in this.) We also want on-screen setup menus to help us with this steadily more complex hub of audio and video data, so that's got to get worked in. We would also like to see a good video processor to help those standard definition video sources look less "low res" on our high definition TV's.

Since this monstrosity has become the center of everything, we may also want it to be able to control everything - which means a universal remote control, something that can be as simple or as complex as you decide to make it. We may also want to have it pipe audio and video to other rooms in the house, which means a second zone with its own controls. Of course, we may already have a really good universal remote and we may not want to fish wires all over the house, in which case both of those features cease to matter to us.

I guess my point is that you are exactly right that the notion of "I won't pay for what I don't use" is impractical - no product will ever offer exactly what someone needs and no more, because the permutations just listed are too numerous, complex, and variable. Instead it's a balancing act, and we and the manufacturers we shop with have to juggle feature lists as best as we can.