I think you both have a valid point, but I tend to lean towards Alec's point.
These PRs do not add any functionality to the code. They're 'merely' code cleanups. I put that between quotes because it's awesome work and i for one am very happy someone is taking that on. But I agree with Alec that committing every single section of cleanup as a new commit is kind of excessive. So I hope David will agree to send cleanup PRs as single (or smaller) commits.
On the other hand, if both of you remain resolved in your opinion, then for heaven's sake, dont tell me meta data is more important than data. Just accept the googol of commits and be happy with the code itself.
Cor