Are QII7.1 Symbol files mandatory ?

Understood. I've been burned the other way. I was using(I think Simulink) and using top-level ports to create/connect symbols rather than the primitive that is dedicated for that. I don't think there's a right/wrong way. I do like the Altera schematic way though, in that you can point to any level of hierarchy in the design and make it your top-level, to see how it compiles on its own, and you don't have to modify it by adding "top-level ports".

I thought there were Quartus schematic examples as a category at:

http://www.altera.com/support/examples/exm-index.html

But don't see them. Yet if you click on by product examples for Max and Max II CPLDs, there appear to be graphical examples. (I haven't looked at them)