I really don't understand the obsession with small docker final images, unless you're doing something silly like export/import and throwing away the benefits of layers. Removing temporary files from layers is great, but you get very little benefit from starting smaller. Especially so if that means your final layer is bigger. That's actually a lot worse storage-wise than having a fat base image and a bunch of tiny final layers.
I do understand the desire to omit unnecessary attack surface, but if you have a good common base image, then you're not incurring any additional storage beyond once per docker host for all the layers your images have in common.
I do understand the desire to omit unnecessary attack surface, but if you have a good common base image, then you're not incurring any additional storage beyond once per docker host for all the layers your images have in common.