I agree with you on dried basil. Also dried chervil, marjoram and parsley.

I smash and dump my garlic, too, mostly on account of laziness. But the over-trained in our midst will often default to the most labour-intensive preparation method available to them, thus qualifying as Stakhanovites. I have moments when I slip in that direction.

Minced garlic does have a true home, however, and that is in Indian food, especially dal. The blandness of boiled peas cries out for the brutality of minced garlic in large quantities, not to speak of vicious little chillies, lots of grated ginger, lashings of lime juice and heaps of chopped coriander leaf. Bring it on!