"Now, if one lives as we do in a 4,200 s.f. 3 story center hall colonial built in 1890 with an hydronic heating system i"

That changes things. In a hot water system there is little to no overhead in starting and stopping the system. Also the water has thermal mass so it evens it all out.

For most places, hydronic heating is much superior to forced air. The only problem is it does not filter the air, and AC cannot be easily added. If you ever want AC don't let anyone talk you out of that system, make them put in a separate air box for it. Then you will have not only balanced heat, but balanced AC, which is extremely difficult to achieve with a combined system in a multi story house. With separate systems you will be much more comfortable.

But the bottom line here is that in a hot water system, the anticipator makes little to no difference in performance or efficiency. You don't have to worry about it.