Over complicating things...
I flew a few thousand hours on a variety of MEP aircraft (BN2P, BE58, PA31-350) and we had a simple A5 card. All airborne checks were memorised flows, with the A5 card listing the critical items.
I didn't know a pilot who didn't do reds/blues/greens. I think a lot of the more extensive checklist items for MEP aircraft are barriers to correct learning. There is quite a lot of background knowledge required to fly a turbo-charged engine, for instance, and how to carefully baby the engine to it's next overhaul interval.
I'd encourage newer pilots to read as much as they of articles like Pelican Perch, learn as much as they can from older hands and just generally sponge up as much knowledge as possible. Airborne checks need to be concise and cover the killer items. The rest of the small things we do to proficiently manage the aircraft should be ingrained airmanship.