Brother Joey,
I am a DI, and I have never failed a brother who gives his all to learning the opening and closing ritual.
Last year the lodges in my district that had all three of their principal officers certified scored much better during the reception of the DDGM then the lodges that did not. I offer this as proof that the certification process is beneficial to the lodges.
As for the small lodges with older brothers, well I have found that it is usually the older brothers who are doing the teaching. I do not see this requirement as being detrimental to these lodges.