Leaving aside whether I "understand the intent", I said should, not must The actual text from perlpod about the escape codes is this:

The above four are optional except in other formatting codes, notably "L<...>", and when preceded by a capital letter.

Notice that it doesn't say "the above four are unnecessary except in...". "Optional" can cut either way. I prefer advising general rules as opposed to the special cases because its easier to remember and follow. You prefer special cases because it's less to type and less hassle. That's cool -- no need to make it a religious war and get personal about it.

As to intent, I personally think even Pod is not simple enough. See Pod::WikiDoc, which simplifies some things even more (though sadly at the cost of more complexity elsewhere).