In everyday operation of an aircraft, there are technical faults that impair safety, and as my butt is in the ship, I will not fly without having fixed, no matter what MEL says, and then there is all that stuff, that gets written off by the technicians anyways. .....
You might not agree, but I think I get paid to decide things like that...
Problem is, do you have sufficient technical understanding of the details of the implications of some bland EICAS indication to make the assessment that safety is or isn't impacted? You're basically second-guessing the OEM and the regulatory authority who approve the Master MEL, and then the authority that approved your own MEL. 99 times out of a hundred, you may be fine, but if and when that 1 in 100 bites you in the ass, you're (legally) out on a limb.
Once in the air, those decisions certainly are the captain's prerogative. And I'm sure the airlines love the fact that you'll grease the wheels in the practical fashion stated. How likely is it, though, that they'll back you up if it turns out to have been the wrong kind of grease?