While that is a decent point, Todjaeger, there's also the question of skill and experience. A character who has only recently gained the ability to turn into a wolf, for example, might have the wolf's keen nose... but have no idea what all these scents mean, how to process them, etc.
As far as "skippable" stuff - I've actually built one shapeshifter who skipped Beast Change; his skill list worked perfectly well for both of his forms, so I simply had no use for an alternate skill set. (And the combination of Wings, Claws, and Diminutive Size all linked to Human Form covered the actual shapeshifting part just fine.)
CMEast: I like the concept, but I think the implementation could use a little work - for example, a character with a high discipline (or maybe just one who'd seen it too many times already) might reasonably object that no, they're not horrified. Here's my alternative notion:
Horrific Change [-1]
Musts: You must already have some means of personal transformation, from an ability such as Beast Change, Flesh Mask, or Human Form.
Effect: When you shift, you may make a social attack or maneuver with your intimidate skill as a free action. This intimidate check is at a -1 penalty, but suffers no further penalties from, say, you using a supplemental action on shapeshifting, nor does it apply any penalty to whatever your main action this round is. This ability can only be used once per scene*.
*In some cases, you may be able to use it a second time, if it's against someone who did not witness the original transformation - this sort of thing is up to GM discretion, though.
I *think* that's only a -1 power, but I'm not entirely certain. It's potentially a bit stronger than what you posted, if you've got a good intimidate skill - but it's also got the weakness that people can try to defend against it, and someone with a high discipline is unlikely to be impressed.