Interesting thread Bob, I think some folks are just unfamiliar with your direct approach. One of the ways I play a D is to move a first position C chord up one step and I wind up fingering it like this:
i= A at 2nd fret 3rd string, m= D at 3rd fret 2nd string, r= F# at 4th fret 4th string, p (little finger)= D at 5th fret 5th string. Play this D, move same position up to an F# chord then up a half step to a G chord then walk it back down half a step at a time to an E chord and you've got Dock of the Bay. Comes in very handy on moving chords up the neck when fingerpicking. vl