Unless I'm missing the boat entirely, isn't it possible to
so a simple /etc/rc using a sysV-style init?
Init itself doesn't appear to reference /{sbin.etc}/init.d directly,
rather it is /etc/rc[0-3] that run the scripts indirectly
from the rc[0-3].d directories.  I see no reason why a barebones
inittab couldn't just fire off /etc/rc.  I guess what I'm trying
so say that is that just because a OS provides the ability to
do init.d and run-levels, there is no reason anyone needs to
be *forced* into using those features.  Most of what's going
through here is "init.d is better" and "no way, the old style
rc is better".  With a bit of cleverness, one could generate
the old-style rc files from an init.d directory automagically,
thus eliminating the need to maintain two sets of startup
files.  Personally, I like the ability to choose the startup
style I want...

 - todd