pulling the rope out actually forces the flywheel to catch them if it reverses once it stops. So don’t do it on a post-80’s Stihl
Well, catching (if that happens) when the engine reverses is what the pulling is intended to mitigate by providing some rope to be pulled back in, so I don't see any damage coming from that, but you're right of course that it is not necessary on these saws, so might as well leave it be.
The problem is of course what to do when shutting off a saw that you don't know the innards of. My take has been that giving the rope those two inches of leeway doesn't hurt the saw when it is not needed, whereas
not doing it on a saw that
does need it may well result in extra strain or even damage.
I may well be wrong on that, but this is how I have been handling it. Mark addresses the pawls hitting/touching the drum while spinning down from idle to stop (not on the back stroke of the last incomlete compression) and I have never had that happen to me, so please tell me if this is a regular thing on certain saws. Happy to learn of course.
So what is your practical solution to this discussion? This being basically the question of the OP: What do I do when I wish to shut off a saw that I don't know the mechanical details about?
To pull or not to pull? Or just leave the saw running forever ;o)