I still think the minima for an IMCR holder when shooting a published approach (as found in the AIP) are not recommended but mandatory.
I have deliberately avoided commenting on that one. Your "no descent below MSA" comment was much easier to deal with.
The IMC rating and its conditions of use are in effect, rather than by design, scattered around a number of places (two parts of the ANO and AIP) each of which uses language which fails in small degrees to interlock fully. It is this lack of interlock which gives rise to the testosterone-filled debates that Pprune is so famous for.
I've always believed the vertical minima to be advisory, but I am happy to hear the arguments on both sides - they are certainly well rehearsed now.
2D