Hi Tim,
1. The new point system is for close quarters battle. It does not replace the old point system. The new system should be used for battles in which either the table is so small or there is so much terrain that few fire lanes are longer than 15" (this makes short-range weapons and grenades much more effective). The old system covers more typical "throw some terrain down on a big table" battles where there are multiple fire lanes over 40".
2. basic melee capability is still purchased as part of each figure's point cost, but HTH weapons can augment close combat effectiveness and can be purchased on a per figure basis...so you can make troops that were relatively weak in HTH more powerful in HTH by spending extra poionts.
3. The Army Customizer includes many more options that relax some of the restrictions in the original rules, for example "Defiance: Anything Goes", which allows for armies that have many, many weapon and troop options (both players must agree).