Pretty much all of it. The situation with ANA / AC / LH on the JV routes is different.

I can't believe people would make a decision to take / not take a flight because of this. Surely the only reason that people choose to take a US airline in Y on a transpacific route still apply regardless of whether they serve a few free drinks or not? (i) E+ (ii) upgrades (iii) MM status. Does $12-14 in drinks outweigh any of these?

People who are getting all fired up over the "principle" of these things are really over-reacting. Life's too short to worry about little things like this.