You're not really 'supposed' to maximize or even tile apps on the Mac. In most cases it's a waste of screen space. The Mac has always been focused around the desktop metaphor. Historically applications were composed of multiple windows, and focusing a window in an application brought all of the other windows for that application to the front. You would manually arrange each of the windows/palettes of your application for multitasking, much like you would with physical pieces of paper.
Heavy Mac user here for many years, and I agree. I can't even think of the last time I "maximized" an app. All my apps sit around in a pile and I switch between them. If I were on a tiny screen, maybe I would dislike this, but at 27" a maximized app would be a pain in the ass.
At this point, my work is around tasks, not applications. I hardly ever need more than one window in the same application simultaneously. What I need is my browser open next to a document, or a spreadsheet open next to powerpoint.
So the menubar is worthless? Because the fullscreen mode kills it. Or is it some mental gymnastics in saying that it's a waste of space to only look at one thing?
Otherwise what you describe sounds like, basically every floating window system ever.
