Nothing wrong with automation per se but I would want it closely tied to the notes in the track which isn’t possible currently AFAIK.
Automation visible (and selectable) vertically as a column in the tracker beside the notes would probably work too.
The intended usage: Articulation of individual notes using various parameters. (pitchbend, vibrato, filter, volume, etc…)
Note that you’d probably want these to respect note delays and things like that.
Implementing Smooth Pitch Bends (MIDI) and friends would be a great step on the way though.