Just because Chrome does that doesn't mean Firefox must do exactly the same.

Merging location bar and search bar doesn't mean you can't give URL higher priority or that you must query search suggestion every key stroke.

Well, Firefox basically does that already, then. You can enter search terms in the URL bar and hit Enter to search. If you then hide the search box, you've got what you suggest.

If you just want to search from the address bar without suggestions, you can already do that in Firefox 4. Just type a word and press return.

Uh, you do know you can turn that off in chrome? I realize it's the default, but those of us who can switch browsers at the drop of a hat can handle it... I think. :-)