I appreciate the explanation and the drive to keep things simple. The main issue I'm describing usually is about network curves (construction) lining up with surface edges. I was looking for a way rather than toggling the 'types' visibility for surface edge selection.

In Pro/E, it will realize the type of object by the command, or you can actually set a selection filter (smart, curves, surfaces, etc..).

If you want I can show a video example, unless you are already familiar with Wildfire.