Bundling and
integrating are two very different things
Bundling, I would have no problem with whatsoever, as I would have the
option to install the browser.
In fact, I think Internet Explorer is a pretty good browser, if not for the occasional (read: constant) crashing and bugginess.
But the problem I have with it is that it is
force-fed to me like a baby that doesn't want to eat that nasty, slimy, green baby food. I am never given the option to uninstall it or define how it is installed (e.g. what components of it I do or do not want), and it is opened every time I browse a folder on my drives. With all the security risks IE has, browsing the hard drive inherently has all the same risks.
The original Explorer shell from win95 and 95a was actually a bit slower in directory listings than Netscape or IE, and MS moving to using the web browser method of listing sped it up a bit. That is, as soon as the computer was done opening the rest of the web browser and processing the animated window opening effect, the gradient titlebar, the spinning Windows/World icon, the smooth scrolling, the text anti-aliasing, and that @!#(%&@#$ annoying CPU hungry left column, all of which are turned ON by default and have no use other than making pretty effects.
98lite is good and when its shellswap option (swapping out a few files from windows 95) works, I get a snappier, more stable system, less memory usage, and keep the good features of 98 (fat32, usb, agp, etc). But the point is, I shouldn't have to use a 3rd party product just to make the OS stable and cut the umbilical cord between 98se and IE.
As I get a bit more experience with Linux, I am more and more looking forward to an opportunity to use it, because it gives me about a billion times more control than 98