To summerise, because you are not quite correct:
1) You can do virtually everything via midi that you can with the remote
2) The remote is plug and play because it is a direct reflection of the KPA - not assigning required (except for stomps and that is just choosing which switch you want to use). Many people do want to use stomps mid song as its saves the number of rigs and is similar to how most people used to operate with pedals.
3) It is powered by the KPA, no power required
4) No expression pedal is included with the remote but this is an advantage as you can chose what you want and they are relatively cheap.
5) The remote display is a copy of the KPA and so you can instantly see what you have switched if you have many changes rather than have to remember or write down midi slots.
So do you need the remote? I don't think you do because you are used to the midi controller. Are you missing any functionality? Perhaps a bit but nothing that you can't work around so ultimately you are not really losing anything except ease of use.
The remote is perfect for me for the reasons above and was also more reliable and easier to use than an FCB1010 (which is midi but even better integrated than a conventional midi controller).