Trans Lift,
I know exactly what you are describing. I've also flown with students that learned elsewhere to yank up on the collective, which in my experience, those pilots overtorque every time.
I teach the method you describe; gradually increasing to max power, although I don't prefer a towering takeoff, I try to utilize any translational lift available. My thinking is the slower, more controlled ascent allows you more time to abort the takeoff if you're not going to make it.
Mike