I don't mind it. It's less frustrating to get through a dungeon when you don't have to start at the beginning after shutting off the game. A simple and convenient solution.
I agree it is somewhat odd to have save points this time around, but compared to OoT's save system, I much prefer SS's precise location save than said game. But hey, that's just me.
I like the bird statue more since I could save and when I started the file I could start where I stopped. I didn't like it in MM but I really liked it in SS. But even though I like the bird statue I would like to be able to save anytime even though I didn't like it in OoT. I guess both would be fine with me.
If they have the save system like they did in OoT I would not like it since I would have to travel back to the place were I left off but if they use the save system like in SS but without the bird statues and have it start were you left off then I would like that more. And I don't remember if it started were you left off in TP when you saved.
I missed the pause menu saving from TP. My mom has a habit of turning off the Wii if I "ignore her and keep playing" when I'm really looking for a bird statue so I don't have to leave the wii on until I play again. I was glad you could beacon them to get to them easily, but they became a bit tedious.
The Bird Statues are a really great idea because if you save with the buttons you get warped to the beginning of something where you are like a dungeon, with the Bird Statues not.
I really liked this save methodology for dungeons, but I wasn't fond of it in the overworld. In the overworld, I would have preferred button saving. But I loved having a statue just outside a boss's door, just in case.
I really had no problem with saving in Skyward Sword, in fact I have never had a problem with this kind of saving. I like the fact that you can save at a bird statue and then continue from that point without getting warped back to the start of a Dungeon or a Key location. I think the saving system in Skyward Sword was much more convenient than in Majora's Mask.
I like the bird statues. Reminded me a lot of Majoras Mask with the owl statues. There were plenty of them around so that you could save generally whenever you wanted. It wasn't that big of a deal to have to hunt one down to save.