If they aren't done for the benefit of the reader, I would agree. But I would also expect that any such designations (ie. for the benefit of the author rather than the reader) would be unlikely to survive into publication.
I use both numbers and a chapter title. Like: 1. The First Chapter. And so on. I don't understand why some people say that books don't need chapters, because its a pain in the butt when you accidentally drop a book without chapters and forget where you were. If an editor/publisher wants me to delete my chapters, fine, that's the least of my problems that could get in the way of publication, but for now they make for a convenient index I can use to jump from chapter to chapter.
I wouldn't want to read a story without some kind of chapter system. A continuous bulk of text would be unattractive and tedious. As for named and numbered chapters, I think it purely depends on the type of story you are writing. Something that changes pace and scene regularly would benefit from numbers chapters, and something that can be broken down into stages would benefit from named chapters. Or use a combination of both. As for publishers, who gives a fuck what they think. If they want your story, then they have to come to an agreement with the author on what to cut or keep. Not unless you're naively throwing all your career eggs into the writing basket, then you'll be at the publishers whim and have to make sacrifices just to get your hard work out into the market, and probably throw in a few blow jobs as well.
This is what I am doing. I have volumes/episodes (still not sure what to call them), each one named after the character it focuses on and divided into numbered, nameless chapters. I. Alice Chapter 1 Chapter 2 ... Chapter n II. Bob Chapter 1 Chapter 2 ... Chapter n III. Carol Chapter 1 Chapter 2 ... Chapter n ... X. Jordan Chapter 1 Chapter 2 ... Chapter n