Yeah, I at least want to get the dangerous ones out of the way. There is still so much that I occasionally get one blocking the trail after a good wind.
As to the kids carrying it back to the stacks it's still a bit of a hike for them to do that. They do enjoy helping in small doses if I pull the tractor and trailer out. Most times I go cut for an hour or so and then I can haul back the small stacks at my leisure even if I only have a few minutes in the evening. The best part is not having to worry about the stacks showing up missing.
The small piles do add up, but I don't think I milk trees out as much as you do. When it starts getting down to forearm size then it had better be pretty darn easy or it stays in the woods. With the OWB I do cut a lot of 36-42" poles from wood that doesn't require splitting - that at least makes for fewer cuts.