I installed 4-way switching for a stairs with a middle landing. The homeowner told me later he'd run up & down the stairs to set the switches all in the down position. I still think he's certifiably insane for doing this. There is no proper orientation for 3-way or 4-way switching. Get a life.
When the power is on, and you want to be sure the lights are off, the light itself is the verification. However, when the power is off, and you have a reason to be sure the lights are off without a means to verify it, having all your switches in an expected configuration is appropriate.
Another example of when one might want to do this is when the power goes out while a lot of lights were on while at home, but you need to leave for whatever purpose before the power has come back on, and want to be sure the lights are off (and other things are desired to be on, so flipping the main breaker off is undesired).
I agree with the all-switches-down must be off. It's not hard to fix since only one 3-way needs to be reversed. You just have to do it when you can verify that it's not the way you want it to be. The only extra step beyond tagging a switch to be reversed is checking behind the plate in the case of 3 or more switches controlling a light to be sure you're going to work on a 3-way one instead of a 4-way one (more hassle). Then cut power and reverse the marked switches.
