My 105 rim brakes always had better feel, and a lighter touch, than my MTB’s Elixar or Hayes with 203mm rotors ever did.
I actually didn’t mind either of those disc brakes either, it’s just a good rim brake is very powerful indeed.
My Zees laugh in the face of anything else I’ve used, but I wouldn't want that kind of power on the road, but it is nice to have a feather light touch.
The only thing I dislike about rim brakes is when they get gritty on a wet ride, grinding away my nice wheels.
In the wet you do get a change in power, but it coincides with a big reduction in grip from the road being wet too.
When I had rim brakes on MTB's, and I had lots of them, there was no end of trouble with wheels going out of true, pad alignment and rims shredding bits of alloy.
Road rim brakes seem to avoid these problems somehow, probably due to getting better treatment. I only had to clean a bit of alloy out of a pad once, when my wheels were still new
All that being said, for an everyday commuter, I'd probably get discs too. I just wanted to defend the idea that rim brakes suck
The Shimano hydros aren't that expensive, $550 on Merlin, when you consider the 105 rim brake equivalent is $270 odd