> but not doing so is a choice

The workaround mentioned isn't a magic solution, it fails in a bunch of more complex cases too. Chamfers are a complicated operation and predicting valid values across of the operation in order to set a maximum value is, as far as I'm aware, in a similar region of difficulty. It would also be unfeasible in many cases to attempt the actual operation across a wide range of values. It's not so much a choice as just being hard to do.