Personally, I think re-encoding shouldn't be used at all (e.g., we should just wait until decrypting is working again... unless it won't be?), as I think most people use options like StreamFab to get the original streamed content decrypted. There are many other applications that re-encode, so people are coming to StreamFab to avoid that.
Just my opinion! :o
AllNight
Some would rather something rather than nothing, especially if their favorite movie or show is leaving a streaming service and they are desperate to download it.
My opinion is similar to yours. I'd rather not download than download a copy that needs re-encoding and doesn't look that great.
That being said, I appreciate them TRYING to give us something to hold us over.