I've been on the get rid of repair train entirely for a long time so no change there :P
However if the concern is mostly surrounding a cost associated with smashing chests/doors, the compromise solution that would make me happy is simply only make those things cause damage to the weapon. I believe Kilroy512512 suggested this back on the first page.
It seems a tad silly to me to have an entire mechanic dedicated to one specific action most players don't even do, but I can't really think of any decent way to impose a "cost" on bashing chests/doors open otherwise.
But I also think the concern is largely silly anyway when you can just save a few random weapons you find and use those to bash things open. Their gold value is so small you don't care that they lose durability. Also generic weapons still have high damage but lack the bonuses which give real value so you don't even care that you can't sell them.
