The nice thing about the 5000/6000 series of Epson is that they have ridiculously wide ranges of lens shifts built in, so it’s incredibly easy to have a great result with less than perfect positioning - it’s probably ideal as a second unit in a setup for that reason alone!
Long term, I’ve considered this as well if I need better 2D performance in the future and current machine still works fine. I’ve heard of other people doing the same. The amount of extra wall/ceiling space needed is probably negligible, and there are plenty of AVRs that can support dual displays...
I think removing that part of the optics allows them to buy a little more light output when it comes to HDR specs, which seems to be the consumer priority.
I’m happy with the Epson 5030 as long as it works (knock on wood) but I’d settle for a 5050 when it came time for a replacement if that...