Ah - That's a different kind of preference than what I had been imagining.
I was not, just for the record, intending to suggest hanging a SCSI2SD directly off the SCSI port on the back of a Mac. I haven't actually seen one of the new 5.1s in action, are they wired that way? Does the FloppyEmu hang out that way? I had been under the impression those were wired with a relatively slim ribbon cable.
Regarding cabling - I don't disagree, but it's funny you single out power cables, because in the '90s almost every Apple cable was longer, even some of the ADB cables.
I also get a little bit of enjoyment out of the thought because a frequent comparison I see is between Apple's lightning cable and, say, the PB1x0/QT1x0 power brick, with the implication that Apple made better cables in the '90s.
Regarding PowerMac X100 mess: It's even worse if you have a DOS-equipped 6100, and it's even worse than that if you have a DOS 6100 and also an AudioVision. There are a handfull of pictures of on the Internet, it's basically the DOS dongle, plus the HDI45 to DB15 adapter, then the everything-to-HD45 adapter, and then the actual HDI45 display connector. and the AudioVision's display cable is exactly as fat as you think it is, which means there will be a lot of strain if any of this hangs unsupported off the back of a table.
The other thing to consider though is that most Macs (all minitowers, almost all of the desktops, perhaps save the 630/6200) vent their heat backward. Most computer manuals recommend six inches of room at the back, which is generally enough even for the most gnarly of adapter combinations and/or biggest and least flexible connections (AudioVision/HDI45, SCSI, PowerBook video adapters, Apple's own video connectors in the '80s and '90s, etc.) I normally get away with less, but I'm also not overclocking or loading my old Macs down with multiple disks or lots of high powered NuBus cards. If I had a 950 or IIfx with a lot of the high end upgrades like Rockets or Symbolics hardware, accelerated graphics cards, etc, I would give it a lot of breathing room.