As a long-time Windows user, I simply have to disagree. I use both methods constantly, and removing one would be a significant degradation in usability. Whenever I have to use software that doesn’t have them I miss them sorely. The rare case, on the other hand, is so rare that I don’t even remember the last time I came across it. It is negligible.

The behaviors also aren’t that obscure, assuming you learn that you can select by typing a character in the first place. When used regularly, you then rather quickly learn what happens when you type multiple characters.