I think cotters have received a bad rap mostly due to the skill needed to fit and service them. Square tapers, on the other hand, can be fitted correctly by the layperson which makes them cheaper to manufactre, repair, and replace, all of which benefit the bike industry. The cottered crank technology is just as sound today as it was in the 1880's, so i dont see the need to fetishize its obsolescence, its just good, proven engineering. Ive had far more issues with creaking from square tapers than i ever have from cotters, so they seem to me a superior method of power transmission.