Perhaps I'm the only one who likes the shove system. I'm not a newcomer to D&D or CRPGs. In fact, it has always been a feature I desired because it made certain abilities that push enemies away more useful. Moreover, from my experience, I have always been the one to use and almost abuse this mechanic rather than being subjected to it. By using shove, thunderwave, pushing attack, etc., it becomes easy to win most encounters. Just position your companions well, avoiding placing them near the edges of cliffs. Defeating the hag by becoming invisible and pushing her off is definitely a cheesy tactic, but it's fun for me at least.
Losing the loot does seem like a good penalty to balance the power of this mechanic, similar to how Disintegrate (Black Blade of Disaster etc) worked in Baldur's Gate 2.
