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I agree that there is a trade-off (gain something/lose something). Where you want to be on the line between "rules light" and "rules heavy" is a matter of preference. For me, I find that I gain more than I lose on the rules light end of the scale. (It took me a while to come to that conclusion, though.)

I accept a healthy amount of player skill overshadowing mental stats; it's just a part of the game that I embrace. To a certain degree, the PC is an avatar of the player, rather than a separately defined entity. However, I don't completely overlook the mental stats. For example, in OD&D, Wis has almost no mechanical game effect, but my wife has an Elf PC with Wis as her highest stat. Consequently, during play I tend to offer common sense advice and such to that PC. Similarly, if a given player is very smart, but playing a dumb PC, any good ideas that the player might suggest get channeled to a smarter PC. Thus, if NASA engineer Todd comes up with a great concept while playing Thrud the Dim, the idea can still come into play, but in the game, it comes from Dim's companion, Lemmundo, Sage of the Alabaster Tower.

The "rules for everything" approach does make for a more defined set of expectations...sort of. A DM can still modify things, or set the DC to suit his fancy, et cetera. Also, I think that sometimes the skill/DC approach is too granular for many situations. If you get out of the habit of thinking in DC/skill terms, the same game situations are often pretty simple and intuitive. I think that players get used to it, too, and start thinking more in terms of the character and the situation, rather than the numbers. The DM can still give the player an idea of his chances:

Thrud: "Does it look like I could make the leap and grab that rope?"
DM: "It's iffy, in your armor and gear -- maybe 50/50. If you took that off and had a running start, you're pretty sure you could make it..."
Lemmundo the Sage: How about me?
DM: Just looking at the distance makes you feel slightly ill. You don't think you could make it.

Thrud: "Can I disarm this guy, instead of killing him?"
DM: "He looks like a farm-boy in his grandpa's militia gear from the antediluvian wars, and holds that spear like it's a hoe. Make a successful attack -- it won't do damage, but his weapon will be gone."

Thrud: "I want to disarm this guy, too."
DM: "Okay, but he appears much more competent than that militia-boy. This one has the stance and look of an experienced swordsman. You don't think he'll lose his grip quite as easily."
Thrud: "What do I need to do?"
DM: "Roll really well, and we'll see how it goes..." [Player doesn't really know, in this situation...I'd probably assign a percentage based on the relative Fighter levels, but might adjust or trump it for a natural 20 or a high damage roll.]

Thrud: "Can I swing on a chandelier and kick him with both feet? I want to it to knock him down."
DM: "Do you want to damage him, too?"
Thrud: Yeah. Both.
DM: "Okay, the move isn't too tough for a physical fellow like Thrud. Let's treat it as a charge attack. If you hit, the half-orc will need to make a roll to keep standing."
Lemmundo the Sage: "Hey, I want to try that, too!"
DM: "Whoa, feeling athletic, old man? You can try it, but you're not very comfortable with stuff like that. Even if you hit, I'll call for a roll to see if you end up flubbing the maneuver. You're likely to fall off, or let go too late, or stumble on the dismount..."
Lemmundo: "Nah, never mind...I'll cast charm person on the bouncer, instead..."

Thrud: "Can I throw a rock and shatter that flask in his hands?"
DM: "If you make an attack against AC2."

Et cetera.