I see the particulars of the interview process as just another part of the negotiation around a potential business agreement between an employee and an employer

I see the particulars of the interview process as just another part of the negotiation around a potential business agreement between an employee and an employer. If you have a good BATNA, maybe you can push back a bit. If you don't, then that sucks for you, but I don't see why the company wouldn't pass you over for someone who's a bit more willing to jump through some hoops. It's not just about being a "monkey"; it can also be seen as a metric of how much a candidate wants the job, and all other things being equal I'd much rather hire someone with enthusiasm. Or maybe (as you say) a candidate will simply disagree with a potential employer's philosophy on interviews and drop out of the process for that reason alone. That's fine too, and if a company's process is so onerous that nobody worth hiring is willing to go through it then that's on them.