I've seen a few instances first hand where anti-sieze wasn't used. in one instance, years later when removing the plugs two of them fused with the head. my neighbor found that out the hard way when the threads from the head itself came out with the plugs. That was on a Nissan Altima.
Dissimilar metals have the tendency to fuse together over time. coating one side of the threads using a pinky nail sized dab of anti-sieze on each plug is all it takes to prevent it. I said a "light" coating, not cover the entire thread with the stuff. That would indeed effect the "feel" and could absolutely lead to over tightening and also get messy. but doing nothing could absolutely lead to a damaged head.
...You have no feel with a tool vs. Using a piece of hose to help you start a spark plug into its home. When the plug meets the threads and goes in its home the hose will simply spin off the porcelain and you can pull it right off. This decreases the chances of cross threading into aluminum which is a soft metal ...especially when it gets hot...Then again WTF do I know I'm only an ASE Tech who's seen alot of people put square pegs into round holes.
Why would there be a chance of cross-threading a plug into hot aluminum? As i read it, it sounds like ur implying changing plugs on a hot engine. Plugs should only be changed on a stone cold engine or risk damaging the head, among other risks.
Also, the spark plug tool obviously has feel. I would argue it has way more feel. I can tell exactly when the threads start and if the plug thread is perpedicalur to the head. It also allows one to be accurate and consistent across plugs because, u know, it's an actual tool. A piece of hose...just some piece of hose? You can't seat the plug perfectly each time in a hose. It's not any kind of accurate or consistent. It's a hose not a tool. "simply spin off the porcelain" is just a bit vague, no?
So what kind of hose are you "hosers" (j/k lol) recommending? A red one? A green one? Rubber or vinyl? What diameter? home depot or lowes?