Actually.... the 3 speeds on the DeWalts is a brilliant idea. What's the number one complaint of cordless drill owners? Battery run time. Driving screws, 1st gear for torque and low rpm. For virtually all non-hammer drilling, 2nd gear works fine and makes sure you don't burn out your bits by running them at excess rpm. For hammerdrilling, where power and bpms are most important, you use ultra powerful 3rd gear.

If during the course of the day, your work consists of straight drilling (no hammer), why shorten the run time of the battery by operating in 3rd hi-rpm gear, when 2nd works great?