Vote-like comments such as "+1," "Disagree," and "This." take up vertical space and reading time. Yet they convey hardly any more meaning than a vote. Let the ranking and shading of comments reflect your opinion.
I disagree that this is bad form, but it’s a little shallow unless you’re contributing something along with your “I agree.” I also strongly disagree that downvotes should be used for disagreement. Downvotes are for discouraging low-value posts, not making things you disagree with disappear from the discussion.
I share your attitude toward voting. I confess it puts me on edge to vote for a constructive comment that I strongly disagree with.
That said, the HN guidelines actually don't specify the proper use of votes (unlike Reddit, whose stated voting philosophy is similar to yours). So my earlier comment doesn't go there. I can't say what HN voting is for, but I can say that vote-like comments are usually better expressed as votes.
+1 to everything above