>I think folks forget how dire Sprint's straits were at the time, and this specific merger truly was the least of all evils.

Exactly. If you map out all the MNOs around the world in each and every country the trend is very clear where they merge to around 3 - 4 MNOs depending on population density. It is both economical and technical decision, I wouldn't even put it in the category of "least of all evils".