OK, so the Commands Bar is in. The icons look really ugly and inconsistent when lined up in a toolbar, but that's the way they are. I wanted to add a few more commands but they don't have any icons at all now. Still I think some may find this new toolbar convenient; those who hate it, just hide it via the View menu and forget.
P.S. As for terminology, all variants except "commands bar" seemed to be too vague or confusing for the new toolbar. And for the former top panel, "Tool options bar/panel" might be OK but is confusing because we have tool preferences tabs in the Preferences dialog, so I'm sticking with "Tool controls [panel]". Feel free to disagree.
P.P.S. In reponse to loud complaints from the public, the nasty "Hide Menu" command is hunted down and killed mercilessly. Enjoy its absence :)