You're absolutely right. Though the problem is the conflict of interest, not the idea that these things should be browser features.
The truth is everyone trusta these particular extensions and so they should have more privileges and deeper integration. For example, Google's new extension APIs actually make a lot of sense: they allow extensions to do useful things without actually looking at user data. This is a big improvement and it should be imposed on all extensions on their store. It's just that uBlock Origin is so important that it shouldn't be subjected to these limitations. That's why I say it might as well become a browser feature.
The truth is everyone trusta these particular extensions and so they should have more privileges and deeper integration. For example, Google's new extension APIs actually make a lot of sense: they allow extensions to do useful things without actually looking at user data. This is a big improvement and it should be imposed on all extensions on their store. It's just that uBlock Origin is so important that it shouldn't be subjected to these limitations. That's why I say it might as well become a browser feature.