I think the chainsaws are a perfect analogy. While a bells and whistles IDE or editor might have a lot of power for full code analysis and debugging, many times they are a bit bloated for quick coding. It's great to have them for your full bore large projects, but sometimes you are just doing some quick coding in a cleaner and less cumbersome (though still intelligent and handy) environment... its ladder work.

By the way, if you have any maple scraps that could be milled into decent hardwood lumber, send it on down my way.