This is not a statement I can agree with, I hate encounter powers :p But they do solve the particular issue of varied power as number of encounters vary.

As I have *always* been very vocal about, if I'm playing an arcane spellcaster then I'm playing a damn mistress of the arcane. I'm not playing Crossbow Geoff with his one spell.

Absolutely, and nothing wrong with that. Although I myself enjoy playing Crossbow Geoff, I don't think it's required for a game to be well-designed; it's just playstyle differences and a game can be good either way. (My issues with encounter powers are long and off-topic here)