I lol'd, lets see. Winkey > Click big tile. Desktop (or where ever you place it, heck pin it to taskbar) > Folder > click tiny icon. Just get used to the Startscreen.
About Task bar I haven't found anything yet, but you can add any Modern app directly on desktop or anywhere within folders, using a freeware MordenApp Link. Its eliminates the need to registry hack manually, which is indeed hectic. blogsolute[dot]com/modern-apps-shortcut-windows-8-desktop-my-computer/26470/
In real: Why I should pin an Start Screen Apps to the desktop? For to save time? For to save steps? Or what? Just press the WinKey and you're on Start Screen and could click your apps just once! In reality, Multitasking gets more easy to use with using the new Start Menu of Windows 8.
For those using StartIsBack or similiar this won´t work . New startscreen is not that comfort to deal with, imho.
Nah..won´t do that myself, StartIsBack is much more sophisticated and i do not use any of those crappy "Metro-Apps".
I do prefer Classic Shell, way more integrated than startisback classicshell.net It also displays the metro apps as a program list...
I guess the "I can't launch Store apps from desktop" is another way of saying, "I can't directly create desktop shortcuts from ANY program found on the Start/Apps Screens." To make a shortcut to desktop of any program, all you can do from Start Screen is right-click and 'Open file location' and then make the shortcut from the start menu folder shorcuts with which you're then presented.