I love the possibility to stretch a curve directly (no need to control both handles). And I like the “organic forms” we can achieve with that options.
But there are situations where we would need to stretch curves maintaining handles direction (even if that handles are not horizontal or vertical)
My suggestion is:
— Direct manipulation of curve ---> actual behavior
— SHIFT + direct manipulation of curve ---> modify curve maintaining handles direction
Next capture shows a practical case maintaining HV handles (very useful for corners):