I don't feel the change as strongly as you do, but I agree and I'm also on KDE for the customizability and plethora of features after leaving gnome during the early days of Gnome 3. That and the traditional non-touch desktop experience. It's shame to see stuff go, but I'm happy the kept activities and brought back the cube. If I wanted a simple environment with minimal customizability I'd reinstall Budgie. I hope KDE stays true to itself and keeps being awesome. I'm rooting for them even in times of skepticism.