I too would just like my TV to be a monitor. I have a Samsung 47" flatscreen since 2008, and I used its USB reader only once out of curiosity. It even came with a server software to be installed on a PC so that the TV itself could turn in some sort of music/video/picture player. It was slow, bulky, and mostly useless.
I am happy the TV comes with several HDMI inputs, but just because I never had time and never really wanted to spend money in getting a proper audio system, which of course would include a receiver/amp, making the entire cabling system just as simple, as you point out.
But, that's my plan anyway: all I am planning to do is to get a receiver and connect to it a HTPC (to include a DB player), XBOX, WII, Squeezebox classic. The HTPC may even make the squeezebox not so needed, even though having to use the TV itself to browse through my music collection is just not as practical, and a HTPC case with a built-in monitor is quite expensive (and probably unpractical as well, compared to the squeezebox).

My problem is that I still have not furnished the wall where all this is supposed to go, and it is still too a time-consuming and expensive project for me to really sit down and start it. But again, yes, I just do not want integration, at all.

I am also quite happy with my samsung video quality, but not very pleased with Samusung frimware/software. It is slow and in some aspects really poorly designed, but that's definitely not something that would make me want to change the TV in the forseable future.