Hey David, great to see you still around! No coins or cats in this one...
I understand the desire to remove the counts as it disrupts the start of the routine. I'm thinking about only doing the count of three cards, and omitting the 4-count at the start. It might give me the convincer that I'm looking for, while also making the flow of movements more efficient.
For the magicians, the counts are there because it emphasizes the differences between the original Larry Jennings routine "Open Travellers" and my own handling variation, where you spend less time hiding the dirty work, and you start super clean.
Cheers,
Scott.