I do understand that it's difficult for people adversely affected by a change to see the bigger picture. So I'll try to explain.

We want the Emperor to be powerful and rewarded, but constantly having to watch his or her back for people envious of those powers and rewards. This is the entire foundation of the cabal -- the higher you climb, the bigger the target on your back.

Coup votes can only be called when there is a full Council. So the Emperor's extremely strong and versatile cabal powers stop making sense if there is zero possibility of a coup ever happening. In other words, it kind of breaks the cabal, since just about everyone is supposed to be striving to become a Sect Leader and ultimately Emperor.

Mechanically, if an Emperor can always access his or her own Sect's leader powers, an Emperor could avoid any negative consequences for having a Council opening and enjoy the benefit of never having to worry about a coup.

The only alternative we saw was to become more hands-on. Maybe we'd impose hard deadlines for filling vacant seats, or else we could demote or Anathematize an Emperor who leaves the Council unfilled for a certain period of time to force a new vote. (I doubt this would be fair if the cabal just doesn't have the numbers, and I'm sure it would not go over well with Emperor players.)

But we like the idea of Empire being primarily player-run and letting the politics take care of themselves. This is the best solution that someone else came up with, and I think it was extremely clever.

I hope that helps clear things up.