People unfamiliar with such things should get familiar with such things. std::make_pair is C++03, std::make_shared is C++11, std::make_unique is C++14. This kind of utility functions is not new. std::unique_ptr (the underlying feature) is C++11 as well and was preceded by boost::scoped_ptr, and to a lesser extent by C++03's std::auto_ptr.

I think we should use modern features of C++ that make sense to use and get people who are not familiar with them to learn how to use recent C++.