Thanks so much for clarifying your thoughts on the matter. They align well with the age you mention. I will point out that my hands are sufficiently large that I find using a body style like the R5II or R7 uncomfortable for more than casual use, which is why my primary camera is the R1 (and before that the R3 and 1D X, and before that I used an accessory grip on 5- and 7-series bodies). For me, the position of the joysticks on the R1 is right where my thumb naturally rests (between the multicontroller and the smart controller), so it's definitely not objectively worse, ergonomically.
I'll also point out that the thumbwheels and joysticks on the R7 (transparent green below) and R5II are pretty much identically placed relative to the 'natural' resting position of the thumb, so I'm really not even sure what your point is or why you believe that the joystick/thumbwheel position on bodies other than the R7 is inferior.
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Perhaps you are referring to the control dial around the Set button? I can understand the sentiment that it's not ideally placed for a thumb control. Of course, the 'ergonomically superior' R7 doesn't have a dial there at all, it only has a D-pad. On the bodies like the 1-, 5- and 6-series that control dial is literally the 3rd wheel.