I think you are over thinking this...
You're probably right...

1 - Sort by description
2 - Sort by color
3 - Sort by manually number each row (not too much fun but the most flexible way)
I am thinking about the hybrid set up where you would have the first/last 512 channels of lynx controllers and the remainder as SS's (it's tough enough scrolling through 100 channels let alone 512). Would it be an idea to have a sort that would bring the first three channels of each SS controller to the top of the list (and all the nodes at the bottom)?
Another helpful option would be to be able to sort ascending or descending.
And then another possible scenario that has been running through my brain...

I can have a maximum of 128 lights per string, should I assign my channels that way even though at the moment I may only plan 60 lights? If so, a sort that would drop all unassigned/disabled channels to the bottom might be something to think about.
Going from a maximum of 512 channels for a universe to 4096 and beyond is a big jump (a real exciting one at that!) But with that number of channels, I think that being able to slice and dice the order is going to be a very important factor in order to maintain a decent level of sanity.

Doug