Interesting counter-point. It sounds like a difference either in how we read code or in how we prefer to optimize our code for readability.
Yup. Although, personally, I think that use with an explicitly empty import list is a clear winner on the readability front because of its lack of ambiguity.
I would tend to write as I described above to stand out better -- or perhaps write "use Module qw()" for a similarly distinctive effect.
We'll just have to agree to differ I guess. I don't really see any difference in readability between using qw() or not - although I can see an argument for using qw() to make adding/removing items from the import list easier.
