Well, technically, Froyo 2.2 had a crapload of fixes from 2.1 (speed enhancements, security, bugs, etc.). Gingerbread 2.3 has even more than 2.2, but doesn't work properly on the Ascend due to hardware constraints.
By rooting (which isn't saying anything, really) and removing bloatware from a stock 2.1 build is cool, you're not really doing much. If you actually ran some benchmarks on Icarus and stock, you'd notice that there wasn't any difference between them. If you ran a benchmark on Icarus and 2.3 @ 748 MHz, you'll see a 2.5x speed increase.
Also, developmental communities, keep phones like these caught up with the real world. Most phones coming out are at 2.2, meaning they can run 2.2 apps, have those features, etc. The Huawei Ascend is running 2.3 now, which a lot of higher-end phones don't have. Which is impressive. That's pretty much the whole reason why I experimented. There were a lot of people who laughed at 2.3 running on the Ascend. I don't think anyone can laugh now.
But I've always been one to stress this point: Use what you wanna use. If it works for you, use it. Hell, if 1.5 Cupcake works for you, grab it, build it and use it on your phone. Try telling that to an iPhone user.
