Flybymike
Just like you I am not a fan of over regulation but in this case I think EASA have a point and fortunately due to the number of units being required by the industry the cost is not astronomic.
The cost of fitting an ELT for a commercial operator is not high per flying hour, for the private operator the cost of a PLB is much lower but probably around the same per flying hour as for commercial operation.
Maintenance is just an added item on the radio annual check and a six yearly battery change.
I see fitting ELT's to my fleet as a duty of care to my customers, it will garentee that should one of my customers have an accident the emergency services can find them quickly.