I'm braid to leader for everything. Past years I ran a 6 to 10 foot fluoro leader for jerkbaits, I might run it down to as little as 4 feet before it gets changed. This spring I ran crazy long leaders  (25-30 foot) and tripled my fish every outing. Not sure if it was the long leader or not but I was fishing same spots, same baits, same temperatures. For baits like a spy bait where I want straight fluoro I have a dedicated reel, tie on leaders long enough to not reach the braid which basically becomes a backing. Still saves me $ on fluoro though. 

Let me add, this was for smallmouth, cold water, clear water, suspending jerkbaits. In most other applications I don't hesitate to run shorter leaders. But my experience this year has certainly gotten me thinking about it 

I truly believe you are overthinking this. Braid to leader is common practice and liked by many regular fisherman (I don't care about pros so I couldn't say) But so straight fluorocarbon. 

Try the braid/leader on spinning reel, I'm sure you will like it.  

never had the desire to create a potential "weak link"