1] I notice that group tracks do not show the (summed) activity of their enclosed instruments in the little bar on their RHS in the project window, this would be very useful on large projects.
2] I notice that folders do not support the Notepad feature - this would be very useful - for example, in orchestral projects, for noting the range and other settings of instruments, in a given folder.
3] “Power Folders”: Frequently, we have folders and within these folders we route all the tracks to a group.
Why not have an option in the folder’s Project view Inspector, “Folder acts as Group/ VCA Track” or “Power folder” for short. When this is activated, any track within the folder is automatically is grouped or routed like it was a VCA to the now “Power Folder” which also functions as a group or VCA track.
This would be quick and easy, save the duplicate chore of creating both folders and group tracks.
What if any Track Type (Audio, Instrument, Marker, etc.) could become a Folder in addition to whatever it initially is. Put an “Enable Folder” checkbox in the Inspector. I think a scheme like that could do everything you are asking for and more.
I think your idea is like a mirror image to mine, but I can’t quite picture the graphical representation.
The key thought is a “folder” is not a folder. Just like a Word “document” is not a document, and Magritte’s picture of a pipe is not a pipe.
What I mean is we don’t need to stay within the concept of a “folder” for as virtual folder. It can have other attributes and properties that the narrow concept of a (real) folder can never have have. That’s why I called mine “power folders”.