New CBB

I have a feeling this in part also is because linguists by tradition have preferred to call suffixes case, but consider prefixes closer to prepositions.

Well, see this thread and search for "free".

Also, verb-final languages tend to be dependent-marking and verb-initial languages tend to be head-marking; or, at least, head-marking within the clause.

Also, although languages in general tend to prefer suffixes to prefixes about three-to-one, verb-final languages prefer suffixes to prefixes about five-to-one, verb-medial languages prefer suffixes to prefixes about two-to-one, and verb-initial languages tend to be about even-handed between suffixes and prefixes.

It's been suggested that VO languages tend to have head-initial noun-phrases and be postpositional and have suffixing nominal morphology, but to have prefixing verbal morphology and put adverbs before verbs; while OV languages tend to have head-final noun-phrases and have prefixing nominal morphology and prepositions, but to have suffixing verbal morphology and to put adverbs after the verb.

I don't know which of the above ideas contradict other ideas above; and if two are contradictory, I don't know which one is right (if either is).

I also don't know that the above contradict anything the last two posters have said. Actually I don't think it does contradict them. But I could be wrong.

See the following:
http://wals.info/feature/combined/23A/26A
http://wals.info/feature/combined/23A/81A
http://wals.info/feature/combined/23A/85A
http://wals.info/feature/combined/26A/81A
http://wals.info/feature/combined/26A/85A
http://wals.info/feature/combined/81A/85A

http://wals.info/feature/combined/23A/95A
http://wals.info/feature/combined/26A/95A

http://wals.info/feature/combined/51A/69A
http://wals.info/feature/combined/51A/95A
http://wals.info/feature/combined/69A/95A

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I am not responsible for the accuracy of my sources; they're responsible for their own mistakes, if any, and also responsible for defending their own statements if you disagree with them.

Freer word order. No need for as many prepositions. But ultimately I think your question is misphrased: it makes it sound like not having cases is the default and languages which do have them are kind of deviant. A speaker of a language like Latin could just as easily ask: "What's the point in having fixed word order and the preposition "of" when you can just as well have cases?" Case and syntactic marking of grammatical relations are basically two ways of solving the same problem - neither is obviously more basic than the other, I don't think.

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Twitter: @jsbaker750

There's no reason to think either is more basic than the other; but according to WALS.info a lack of cases is more common than a case-system.

_________________
I am not responsible for the accuracy of my sources; they're responsible for their own mistakes, if any, and also responsible for defending their own statements if you disagree with them.