Hi jake,
Do you work with mattes?, or hdr?
I like the idea of nodes + layers, but if i must decide i prefer nodes. Its more intuitive for me. I only need a text box under the nodes number, like in the power grades or other app like shake. The name is important in a node tree. With shake is very easy to Move the position of one node. You can use groups of nodes (scripts) that make easy to see the tree, etc… I think that resolve can make some improvements in nodes mangement, but i like a lot what we have now.
Saludos,
Jose.