Such a great topic. I have both feet firmly planted..... On both sides of the argument! LOL. I have several books that offer suggestions on how to quilt particular quilt and I love that these books give me starting ideas that I can use or disregard as I see fit. I am always, always, always on the lookout for quilting motifs/designs/ideas.
On the other hand, as a long arm quilter, I take a great deal of pride when I can come up with a completely original idea/design based on how the quilt speaks to me. If someone else uses my design because they saw a picture I posted, great, but share the love and give credit. Many LA quilters do feel that way, especially ones that do really original work, like Green Fairy or Angela Waters. And then you have LAers who make a living by selling original quilting designs they come up with.
Then you have the quilters who feel the quilting is form of customizing their quilt.
I agree that a happy medium would be to have just one suggestion on how to quilt it with each pattern for those of us who simply cannot come up with a quilting idea no matter how hard we try, along with "or quilt as desired" for those of us who have our own ideas of how to finish up.