I was anthropromorphizing of course. Perhaps this makes it more clear: let's say you have two trees and aren't just going to use them as firewood. The first has a trunk like this, and is perhaps a trident maple or elm:
Now how do you suppose we would make a purely naturalistic tree from these bones? Would you make huge sacrifice whips to reduce the taper? Carve out the curves? That would remove the taper and curves that make the tree interesting or appealing. To my eye, this sort of material "wants" to be classically styled, since this takes best advantage of it's existing characteristics.
The second is a collected conifer and has a trunk like this:
How could one make a classically styled tree out of this? Remove the dead spike? Try to wire curves into the living trunk? Trying to fit this into a traditional mold will also take away the aspects of the tree that make it interesting and unique. To emphasize it's best points, this tree "wants" to be styled naturalistically like an alpine conifer. Get it now?
Well exactly, why would you? You could (by doing all the things you mention and more. Like cutting it half and repositioning everything and make a new apex and..and. The Japanese have been doing it for ages. I call it ''domestication'') but that would very stupid.