The problem with penalty-less channels is they destroy the strong disincentive to cheat. There needs to be a penalty for LN to stay secure. It doesn't need to be 100% of the channel capacity, just an amount high enough to deter abuse.
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No, because the defense is now *also* much easier. Watchtowers are trivial, since they just spend the latest tx.
I was originally of the same mind as you, but this seems to be our direction anyway, since people want zero reserve for UX reasons...
If I'm going to close the channel anyway why wouldn't I use whichever state is the most favorable for me? Sure with watchtowers the probability of success is low but I don't see any downside trying. If failure meant losing $5 worth of btc it'd be at least some reason not to.