I maintain that the specs are just the starting point of good design practice. Never, ever, violate one. Never, ever, assume that simply meeting spec is adequate. A design is correct only if it reliably satisfies all intended applications - including the first of all applications, debugging hardware and software. If something that, while technically correct, prevents proper debugging, then there is surely a problem.
Pulldown resistors are often a source of trouble.
Though CMOS inputs leak little, you must be aware of every potential application of the circuit, including that of plugging tools in. The solution is to avoid pulldowns wherever possible. Tie it to ground. Otherwise switching noise may get coupled into the input. Even worse, every time you lay out the PC board the magnitude of the noise problem can change as the tracks move around the board.