Yes, you're right about shifting/braking from the hoods. That part slipped my mind because I was comparing it to my Panasonic, on which I can't use the hoods for hand placement.

Come to think of it, the hoods were actually pretty comfortable. Wouldn't take much time to get used to using them instead of the flat part of the drop bars. It was all new to me last night because I'd never ridden with brifters or hoods before.