We had to remove the Browser mining because MalwareBytes and others classify it (incorrectly) as a trojan. So I'm afraid it will not be coming back.
I used to use that and it was useful for linux and systems I didnt have mining readily setup, however I didnt find it that efficient. I dont know if it was a limit of the browser approach but it was no big earner afaik.
Sadly I recognise the argument well and anti virus refuses to accept the idea of mining, quite a few of them ignore attempts to white list the valid usage. They assume all users do not know any better (or its a corporate issue, your personal preference means zero).
For a while some websites would start mining without asking permission, a few of the torrent sites did this I think. Ive not seen any for a while but no doubt some out there are still trying to latch into people systems and capture free cpu cycles for profit, because of this its a lost cause trying to persuade the industry not to see it as an ongoing threat
I think it caused too many hassles for the team that needed to handle all the queries regarding this mining being falsely identified as being a trojan and as you said, this also caused a buzz in the media, when it was used without people's permission, when they downloaded this on torrent sites.
People could easily put 2 and 3 together and then call Freebitco.in a scam site, based on the negative news in the media, regarding this kind of browser mining. The yield was so minuscule that it was not even worth doing it, so why even bother?