I can sort of see both sides of the issue... On the one hand, it's frustrating to waste something valuable because you didn't know what it did, (Hatred Skulls and similar items come to mind, since I wasted a few of them before giving up trying to figure out how they work and looking at the Wiki) but on the other hand, there is some excitement to be had from discovering something new and figuring out how it works. Whether or not you get enjoyment out of the latter depends what kind of player you are, I guess. If you're the type of player who, as you say, wants to get the most use/advantage from every item, then you can go straight to the Wiki whenever you find something new; there's nothing wrong with that.
As for DS and BA, they're so rare that a lot of players haven't even encountered them, let alone become frustrated by them, so I disagree that they "take away much more than they give."