Thanks Dave. I actually noticed you beat me to the punch before I even finished writing my post! I actually quite like the way the layers work as well, but it take me some grinding, awful mental gear changes to get there.

for me, i do all my modeling on the default 'layer 0', then move groups, components, or collections of them to particular layers, as required. i often have a roof framing, floor framing, timber, foundation, footer, accessories (furniture, people, etc.), grid, layers, etc., as required. i do like the outliner, but depending on what you are modeling it can be maddening once you get into 20-30 scenes setup for layout.