I can see how the 69 having two distinct routings could cause some confusion, even if they both ended up at the same spot sooner or later. If you wanted to go to Birchmount and Sadler, for example, it would save you a hell of a lot of time to get on the Birchmount branch, rather than doing the scenic tour via Warden. So assigning branch numbers for optimized wayfinding makes sense.
What I can't fathom is how exactly changing the 85B and 85C around helps anyone. People are used to the way things are now, forcing them to relearn it, and gain NOTHING in the process, is done solely out of malice. There is no alternative explanation.