A couple points:

1. SPS 2001 doesn't have document  level access controls either ...only
exclusion lists at the document level  which, in practice, have been very
hard to use in an understandable way.

2. The WSS/SPS product groups have heard this from virtually every MS
partner and customer and I have difficulty imagining a scenario where we
don't see some improvements in a future release of WSS/SPS.

I agree with you and I believe Microsoft need to reintroduce the
Enhanced version feature too. More over I think much of Groove Inc
Virtual NetWork stuff can be incorporated in SPS. Just curious to know,
is SharePoint going to have workflow, better version control, better
scanning facility etc. on their next release.

The WSS/SPS product groups aren't discussing the "12 Wave" release of their
products yet. I would imagine we'll all learn more by the fall.