I'm also a fan of keeping the intros as intros - Steve's commentary is always interesting and he is adept at presenting the story--not explaining or analyzing, but presenting. In a way, it feels like he is welcoming us into a shared story space. By taking a few moments to bridge the gap between our everyday lives and the story, he creates a smoother transition, and a more natural, intimate experience.
I think that's one of the reasons I comment more on EP stories that PsuedoPod or PodCastle - I feel more tied in to EP and I think it is partly due to the intro structure and to Steve's abilities as an essayist and host.
I don't want to diminish Alisdair's outros - which I think are quite good, but because of their placement, they don't create that intimacy of someone saying "Hi - so, you know there's this thing about life that we can all recognize and hey, you know what, here's a story that kind a speaks to that, let's share that together."