I couldn't agree more.
Yesterday I was proofreading an upcoming edition and even the horizontal spacing affected the stem length and beam angle of exactly equal situations. For example, in a system with only 3 bars (the first system), longer stems were preferable, while 4 bars and more cramped situations required a slight shortening. We are talking 1/8 space, sometimes 1/16 but, for me, that was definitely noticeable.