Hello, I was recently forced to upgrade to the new STB (Stream TV), and received the Fios TV+ STB along with DVR (VMS4100ATV).
I have not done the setup yet as I want to finish watching a few DVR recordings before activating the new equipment.
One downgrade will definitely be the remote in that it lacks dedicated controls for many playback controls, especially DVR, and skip forwards.
With that in mind I was looking at this product, https://www.verizon.com/home/accessories/ir-adapter-for-fios-tv-plus/
IR Adapter for Fios TV+
One concern that I have is determining if it will work with the original fios Philips RC1445302 remote 
The goal with that combination would be to make use of the playback controls, especially the skip buttons as well as the DVR button.
Another thing I was looking into if the IR functions will be heavily limited, is also checking if I can pair a second fios TV+ remote to the same STB, without unpairing the first one, with a goal of being able to use both. For example with a Fire TV stick or Fire TV Cube, you can pair multiple remotes and they can all be used simultaneously.