Focus and recompose, every time, like in the DSLR's days, when I've the possibility to rapidly off-set the af point with the joystick? I would say that, given the flexibility in moving a single AF point that we get with ML cameras, a joystick it's almost a basic feature if you're not using the camera just for family holiday pics twice a year...
Well, I use my R5 for rather a lot more than "family holiday pics twice a year". I shoot about 20K shots a year, hundreds of which have been published, and among other things I photograph insects, African and Indian wildlife, birds, flowers, fungi and landscapes.
I only very rarely use the AF joystick, because I find the focus-recompose method is *much* faster, and the R5 locks onto almost any subjects and tracks them really well.
I've got the Mfn button mapped to switch between AF zones, so with a single tap I can instantly switch to spot AF for difficult subjects, and if I wanted to I could map the AF/ON and AEL buttons to switch the AF area off-centre to either side (as I did with my 5DSR).
Second dial not needed? Never heard about exposure TRIANGLE? At least two dials are REALLY needed for any use that is more then just amateurish, so you can control two parameters of the triangle with the two camera dials, while the third parameter (usually aperture) is assigned to the control wheel on the lens, so you can move the whole triangle just with dials, without touching any button/menu.
Having been an industrial photographer until I retired, I heard about, and fully understood the exposure triangle long before you were born.
You seem to be blissfully unaware that the R8 has THREE inputs, i.e. a front dial, a rear dial and a control ring on the lens.
Most people will be shooting in Tv, Av or P modes, which means you only need ONE input to control those parameters (one input manually, the other automatically set by the camera). If you are in Manual metering mode, you can use the front dial for shutter and the rear dial for aperture (or vice versa). Then you have the control ring around the lens for ISO. Furthermore you can map the set button or any other button to enable you to use the dial/ring of your choice to alter the exposure compensation.