Yeah, I'm afraid that in the quest to find the Holy Grail of Battery Life, Google has landed Android in a cow pie. I can't see how this will stand for long. It handicaps Android email, alarms and who knows what else too much. The backlash will be too strong. But then again...
As Kostya pointed out, he has an iPhone that gets better battery life - until he actually uses it. And in typical Apple/Microsoft fashion, his iPhone only supports Push for iCloud. The various limitations that Apple has strapped the iPhone with (and Microsoft with their screw standards - we don't need standards! - attitude about everything from email to web browsers) hasn't bothered users enough to keep them from lining up to buy the friggin' things.
That's what happens when consumers, and in turn, marketing departments, don't much know or want to know how something works - just that it works. Much like a car. Put gas in now and then, it goes. The less often they put gas in, the better. If it fails to go, they're pissed. Same thing with a phone - charge it now and then, the less often the better, and it works. If not, they moan and complain.
Ya can't really blame Google too much for this Doze fiasco. Really, they're just trying to give people what they keep screamin' for. If IMAP Push is a casualty along the way because it uses a tiny bit of battery, so be it. The battery people make a lot more noise. But...I'm gonna think positive and assume wiser minds will prevail and soon we will have an option to fully defeat Doze and restore IMAP Push, among other things.