Not to mention the fact that figures are basically very cool on their own.
Totally agree! If you've seen high level skaters do figures, I think it's just as cool to watch them do that as it is to watch freestyle. Personally, I loved doing "patch" when I was a teenager. And figure tests had to be way harder than mif tests--the judges are there on the ice breathing down your neck and looking at every single tracing.
Her best story was passing her 6th - she passed in < 2 months because it has no loops on it.