My primary road bike is a Trek 5200 that I bought new in 2001. It has the combination brake shifters and a 9-speed cluster and rim brakes and weighs in at 17.1 lbs. The combo brake shifters are great and I shift more frequently than I would with downtube shifters. These are also much more comfortable for my wife to use than having to lean down to reach downtube shifter.
Disc brakes were a good improvement for mountain bikes with their 2-inch wide tires and of course on a tandem bike but not on a road bike. Electronic shifters are in some ways a step backwards with the need to carry a spare battery when riding.