Currently, they take precedence when menu.lst is created for the first time, which is probably at install, before you even can have made /etc/default/grub, so yes this is pointless.
Unless you deliberately deletes the old menu.lst before you run update- grub, but that doesn't rhyme withe "update". ** Changed in: grub (Ubuntu) Status: Unconfirmed => Confirmed -- update-grub overrides /etc/default/grub https://launchpad.net/bugs/63240 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs