I only have X1, X2 & X3 on this DAW, and really can't remember behaviour pre X series.  I still have Sonar 6 on a laptop somewhere round here, so may have a look sometime.
 
This behaviour does make sense to me.  If we group most things in Sonar (such as quick grouping tracks) we then hold control when we edit them together.  I can also see why this behaviour would an annoyance, but just not for me.
 
OT - Constantly opening and re-opening X1, X2 & X3 whilst trying to help in this thread has made me appreciated the evolution of the X series.  I was really happy with X1d, but enjoyed the workflow enhancements in X2 a lot.  X3 is just the icing on the Cake (pun not intended, it just sneaked up on me).

Pre-X1 versions had no Smart tool, and right-clicking with the Select tool would give you the full context menu. This is still true of the Select tool in all X-series SONARs.
 
At first glance, I would think that right-clicking an empty area of the PRV with the Smart Tool could be made to leave the notes selected and thus give the full context menu without impacting other functionality, but since it has never worked that way it would be a feature request.

I think I am getting different behavior than what you guys seem to be getting.  When I right click and select a group of notes and the now marker is after the notes and then Ctrl+Right Click I do receive a context sensitive menu with only three options highlighted.  However if I go back and Ctrl+Right click between the notes I get a context menu with all options available...and the notes that where selected remain highlighted.

I think you must be mistaken. Ctrl+right-click with the Smart tool should work anywhere, and right-click without Ctrl will only work with the Select tool.