Nope, on the one point, I'm afraid either you're totally wrong, or my memory has faded to black from misuse. Ha ha. In the point of a player involvement only, you can either cut and/or shuffle WITHIN REASON. Wearing down the paint pixels of your opponent's deck by repetitive shuffling any number of times (be it 7 or 70 shuffles) isn't necessary. However it isn't wise not to at least cut your opponent's deck. I always told friends who play (even non-competitive players) to protect themselves from the poor shuffling of others, or the deliberate cheaters out there by lightly shuffling and/or cutting their opponent's deck ..... AT ANY LEVEL EVENT, BUT ESPECIALLY HIGHER LEVEL EVENTS, where higher level prizes are on the line. At least that way they have a measure of control over their own destiny - they did all they could to ensure a fair game. You do however have the right idea about the judge's intervention - whenever they shuffle the deck for the player, their shuffle is always deemed sufficient.
As a side point, it might be wise to point out that IN THE PAST....certain Canadian players have been called out for declumping their decks and many people (from different countries - but primarily players from the US) called them cheaters. Let's just say, it probably would be wise to discontinue the practice of declumping and just ensure a fair shuffle is done by both players in a match. However let's not go all OCD on this and try to mandate exactly how much is sufficient, since everyone's viewpoint will be skewed to their own fears, and preferences. Balance is key.
Judge credentials: 3 time head judge Canadian Nationals, also head judge Masters division another year.