I have some pictures that help illustrate your descriptions above that might help further explain the differences between modes to your readers.
http://blogs.adamparkerphotography.com/blog/Canon-Shooting-Modes-What-are-the-differences/29/

Thanks again for the post, I look forward to reading more.

I’m using Nikon, and always use Av – aperture priority. ;-)
But if I shot sport, I use – Tv, or P mode.

Most (if not all) digital SLR cameras have a variety of “modes” that they can be operated in, such as Av, Tv, Portrait, and so on. I will attempt to demystify these modes and explain how to use them most effectively for the greatest creative impact…

I would say that 90% of the time you want a photograph that is exposed to middle gray, which is what metering will do for you, and evaluative metering really works 90% of the time.

Even when the shutter speed is important, I personally leave my camera in Av mode and use the EV controls to “force” the shutter speed to where I want it (which I believe I mentioned in the post). In exactly the same way you would set the shutter speed and notice that the camera blinks “-1 EV” in the viewfinder, I would simply set it explicitly to -1 EV and get exactly the same effect.

It’s really six of one and a half dozen of the other; everyone has their own preferred method. I’m sorry if I misrepresented your approach, but it seemed a good example of a different opinion of shooting modes.

“I have personally found that approach to be too tedious, especially when the shutter speed itself has no bearing whatsoever on the way the image will come out.”

Shutter speed has everything to do with how the image will come out. If your shutter speed is to slow the image might not be sharp, its its a tad to long it might be over exposed.

Think about this for an example, I’m shutting a deer in low light, the deer is going to move so I know I have to have a fast shutter speed. I set my lens to f2.8 and then set my shutter speed to be fast enough that I can get the deer in the photo with out any blur. If I used Av and set my camera to 2.8 it would have likely chosen a slower shutter speed. My images of the deer from Yosemite where all a little dark (underexposed if you asked the camera) but no matter in my RAW work
flow I was able to fix that in 2 sec.

Sure I could use Av mode, set my lens at f2.8 and then change the EV mode to tick my camera into using a faster shutter speed. But that takes as much if not more effort then setting the shutter speed by hand.

I’m not saving Av is never good, I’ve played with it a lot. In fact I use Av or auto when I am doing ‘street photography’. I know its not perfect but I’d rather get the shot then miss it playing around with my setting.