True!
I've always been attracted to exploring ways of getting two jobs per part to keep weight down. For example, it always strikes me as wasteful the way the lower frame on the Twist is duplicated by the strong alloy casting of the bottom bracket/drive unit. Not a good example, but illustrating the principle.
Integrating the bottom bracket internals with epicyclic gears is another possibility, rather than possible duplication of some weight with a hub gear at the rear. The integrated frame and seat tube pumps are a good example of these techniques already, and the rubber spring front hub (forgotten it's name) is a very good weight saving on suspension forks.