Happily Vandeberg seems to be on the same page.

Rather than time locking each satoshi STEEM, we allow an account to set a maturation date on their Steem Power. When the account powers up, bonus VESTS would be allocated as a function of how much STEEM is being powered up and how much time the account has left before the maturation date. The maturation could be increased at will for most (more?) bonus VESTS, but never decreased.