I was the opposite. All my titling back in the day was done using the remote that came with my MDS-JE500. I only discovered the joys of PS2 keyboards and computer based titling in the last few years. I don't remember using the remote being that much of a chore at the time but the later developments certainly made things much easier.
I've also now got what I suppose is the deck equivalent of this: Control A1II between my CDP-XB740 and MDS-JB940.