The reason I took zlib-1.2.8 is just because it's the latest (it is supposed to be better, no?).

I don't think the dependency issue is a problem in my case because I just want to use/maintain a small subset of easyconfig files (let say around 20). 

However, I can see how it can be a problem at a larger scale. But then, should we avoid using zlib-1.2.8 as much as possible?