Why does the Shimano factory manual use a SRAM brifter for illustrative purposes?

If you're gonna do it "wrong", I think having them mounted too high is better than too low. I can especially see that for someone who seldom rides out of the saddle, as that changes the angle that the arms and wrists maintain to contact the hoods (and the drops for that matter) greatly. Riding out of the saddle is the only time my hands are completely comfortable on hoods which parallel the ground.