Still I think in the long run, templating systems are a dead branch of the evolutionary tree:

and, some would say, so are we homosapiens... I mean, in the long run we will all be extinct. Let's do it better while we are still alive. ;-).

What I am more intrigued by is...

they are neither pure programs, nor pure mark-up but a hybrid of the two, which IMHO combine the bad things of both for little benefit.

what, in your view, are the "bad things" of programs and mark-up that templating systems combine? I am very curious.

Hybrids are, evolutionarily speaking, almost always stronger than "pure genes" types, and should survive longer than either. Usually hybrids (and, IMHO, definitely H::T) combine the best of two or more types.

Programming is great for utilizing logic to generate content. Mark-up is great for purposing the content for display. Because of the nature of the content, at times a tiny amount of logic creeps into mark-up, but that is ok, because mark-up is greatly enhanced by that logic.

I would say that templating systems are as good a hybrid as Aspirin is. It is not pure Acetyl Salicylate -- in its pure form it would be too sour and probably digest our stomach lining -- and it is not pure starch -- that would be too yucky and useless. But, it is a perfect mixture of the essential acid for its painkiller-ness and the bland base for making it safe and palatable. And very effective at preventing headaches -- just like the templating systems.

Finally, as you rightly said, "whatever works for one, need not work for someone else." In this case, Kiat, the OP seems to find that a templating system works. I commend Kiat on doing the best to separate logic from display using what works.