I understand those points. And I didn’t want to imply that you didn’t put time or thought into combat.
A flat 1d6 damage for every weapon would make combat deadlier, that’s true, and I’m not sure if I would be completely happy with that approach, either. But I think that the non-viable damage option fits the abstraction of Moldvay D&D better. Since we only really differentiate weapons through damage and initiative (and that is big advantage compared to Moldvay D&D), the variable weapon damage adds a layer of differentiation that doesn’t really fit into the otherwise abstract combat.
But it’s no deal breaker for me.
Edit: Do you personally roll on Hors de Combat for your PC’s enemies or just for the henchmen?