So the workaround was better than the original intent.
But I'd say underscores have existed much before italics because ancient copists used them when types weren't a thing and therefore no one had thought about italics.
Discussion
Which is better is an opinion, of course. Although I love the typographic conventions of traditional books that in my opinion peaked mid-century, I totally understand your frustration with someone else deciding that your underscores "really mean" something else -- and then forcing you into the something else with no way out.