I don't think anyone was arguing with your position that phase A position and play impacts the outcome of the game. I think they were reacting harshly to your proposition a and then justifying b wasn't very good either.
The question you should be asking yourself is which divisions suffer more due to top heavy phase c and why specifically for those divisions. I think you'll find more precise proposals that way and less knee jerk reaction to proposals that fundamentally changes how the game is designed.