The keyboard is the part I dislike the most on the 2017, although I heard they made it better on the 2018. Loud, no travel, requires more force to actuate, more difficult to touch type reliably because I can barely feel the edges of the keys.
I definitely hate the touchbar, for the same reason. I just want the buttons I need to be there when I need them. Changing volume or screen brightness just takes that much longer and I have no tactile feedback, so I actually have to look at the keyboard instead of relying on muscle memory.
I mostly don't care about the ports, but I'd still rather not have to use dongles if I don't have to. Would it have been that hard to add one or two USB 3.0 ports? No, but then how would they sell $80 dongles?
I think the keyboard is down to preference, I prefer the new one.
It does seem silly not to include a dongle in the box though. I mean, I’m buying apple because I want my tech to just work, and now my mouse or magic keyboard can’t connect and charge?
The only real port annoyance I have though, is the damn headphone jack. :p I mean, I can’t connect my iPhone XS headphones to my MacBook Pro...
I'm not saying that a USB adapter wouldn't be useful, but for your specific use case (which is pretty rare: using an external keyboard and mouse with your laptop) you shouldn't need an adapter at all. You should be able to connect to both through Bluetooth.
You don't need to charge your keyboard and mouse from your computer; I'm assuming you have a USB-A power brick from your phone, tablet, etc. already that you can use to charge your stuff.
If you were already carrying a 15" laptop plus full-size external keyboard plus mouse plus power brick for the laptop, a dongle is not much of a burden to add on. And many people who did that with USB-A machines tended to carry other accessories as well and end up with an external USB hub in the bag too.
I have a keyboard and mouse at my desk. I plug them into my laptop when I'm working at my desk. I don't carry them with me at all times, though, and I don't know many people who've ever done that.
I installed BetterTouchTool on mine, and you can configure an action to run when sliding anywhere on the touchbar with 2, 3 or 4 fingers. I set 2 fingers to volume control and 4 fingers to brightness and that works pretty well, no need to look. I also make it display the time and battery percentage at all times, which is nice to have when an app is running full screen. BTT isn't free, but it's pretty cheap, worth it IMO.
BTT is so useful it ought to be bought by Apple and incorporated in the OS. Throw in the top 20 used presets as checkboxes and be done with it. It's the first thing I install when I set up a Mac.
I definitely hate the touchbar, for the same reason. I just want the buttons I need to be there when I need them. Changing volume or screen brightness just takes that much longer and I have no tactile feedback, so I actually have to look at the keyboard instead of relying on muscle memory.
I mostly don't care about the ports, but I'd still rather not have to use dongles if I don't have to. Would it have been that hard to add one or two USB 3.0 ports? No, but then how would they sell $80 dongles?