Yes, I agree with you on that, Bistro is more configurable in that option (go up and down at any regular mode mode)!
About timing, there is none for the sequence to change, it is completely memorized. It is like stepless dimming flashlights, if you were going up/down before OFF, it will maintain the same direction.
The “good” thing here is that we can always start from the bottom > up, from the top > down, or from the middle (in this case it will be up or down according to the last direction used)!
I find it versatile due to this, despite I also know that most of the times we are used to have a pre-determined sequence (normally bottom-up) for our use.
But, in any case, and as I mentioned before, the best option would be to have the possibility to ascend/descend in modes at will, like some ramping UIs are using currently!