Like you I have been laying up the wood this weekend and come to the same conclusions you have.  Some things are done faster with modern equipment, but not as energy efficiently.  Specifically, splitting wood with and ax requires skill to split with the grain at weak spots in the wood.  Mechanical splitters just brute force the problem, often cutting through knots rather than splitting around them.  

If speed is the only criteria than Paul Bunyon can't keep up with the steam splitter!  But when energy is scarce it should be treated with respect and not be wasted.  We need to trade speed of accomplishment for efficient use of energy whenever we can.  But it is now a habit for people to trade speed for quality in just about everything.  A craftsmen using power tools is a wonder to behold.  The same tools in the hands of most people just makes a mess quickly.  Most houses built in the last 20 years show this.  There is no real thought going into when high energy applications make sense vs using a less energy intensive method.