Maybe I am not fully understanding what you are saying, but I will make a comment about not quilting enough on a quilt. A quilting friend made a beautiful wedding quilt, hand quilted per the instructions on the batting as to the "minimum required" (which was approx. 10") and when she gently washed it to remove the markings, the batting bunched up in quite a few places. She had to make slits into the backing and smooth out the batting, repair the slit, and add more quilting. As far as I'm concerned, I would rather have more than the minimum, and not take the chance of batting bunching.
I also "prefer" the look of a wall hanging that has enough quilting so that it doesn't sag when hung.
Just my preferences, for sure.