There are many image editors. The primary appeal of something like Lightroom is image editing workflow - library management and editing combined. Being able to organize and move around your library is a core feature.

My images are also stored in date-based folders, but C1/Lightroom allow me to very quickly move between folders and identify the file I want, search for files I've rated highly or tagged with keywords/colors, and more.

A believe you. But it's not like that for everyone. Every raw editor I ever used was strictly for editing a single project at a time.