All switches have vlan1 as default and the setup I described works.
I have an MT router connected to a Dlink managed switch connected to an MT capac
The same managed switch is connected to an MT switch
The same managed switch is connected to a managed netgear switch.
All with vlan 1 as default.
Note with bridge vlan filtering the default vlan-id is 1 and this is kept in the setup.
However one does not use vlan1 for anything, its just there and everything works just fine.
So its based on my usage not fairy tales.
http://forum.mikrotik.com/t/using-routeros-to-vlan-your-network/126489/1
Read use it , or continue on your merry way…