I'm not a compiler expert either, but I think LLVM IR is the way it is for the benefit of the optimizer. It wasn't intended to be written by humans, typically.
It's more "portable" than assembly so that the same optimizer passes can work on multiple architectures. The static-single-assignment restriction makes it easier to write compiler passes by removing the complexity that comes with multiple assignments.
It's more "portable" than assembly so that the same optimizer passes can work on multiple architectures. The static-single-assignment restriction makes it easier to write compiler passes by removing the complexity that comes with multiple assignments.