Before we throw the baby out with the bathwater here, I think that carryover remains a useful game mechanic for when the narrator wants to break one task into a series of sub-tasks against different opponents, but reflect that the degree of success in one stage gives a modifier to another stage (you cannot just rely on the victory/defeat level because the opposition might change).
For example one way to use it (and James Hawkins has used it at this level) is with the classic stages of the Orlanthi battle. Victory or defeat in any of the stages becomes a modifier to everyone's actions in subsequent stages (of course you could play the whole thing as an extended contest - but for pacing and drama you might not want to). I was also a fan of the way it simplified pre-HQ rituals and mundane reenactments.
I can think of some other games, Ron Edwards Sorcerer for example, that use this carry-forward to handle breaking a large task into subtasks.
I think this is a useful option in the narrator's armory, paritculalry when you want to handle a lot of events as simple contests for pacing.
While its removal from HQ stations is fine, I would probably continue to retian it as technique for the above circumstances.
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