I'm not sure I see the difference between having your text editor configured vs. having your shell configured. My shell is my primary interface to my computer and I spend at least as much time interacting with it as I do my text editor. I just don't see the advantage of leaving it un-configured. You must jump systems much more often than I do.
But, for your main tools, if dot files can make a difference then you should make an exception.
Vim without my .vimrc is almost a different apps, and I'm way less efficient without it!