Photoshop filter panels preview

Dear Adobe Community,

can anyone explain me the reason why working with most filters in Adobe Photoshop is so clumsy and complicated? I mean - is everyone happy with the filter preview is usually shown in a separate panel, on a checkered background, separately from other layers? In example: Liquify, Filter gallery, Ripple and many many more. It is especially disturbing when working with light objects, which are hardly visible on that checkered board. I also don't get the logic of showing the filter preview separately from the rest of the picture - trying to set the right values of the effect is always like a blind date, the result can be seen only after applying the filter. This is so inefficient. 

If there is a way to change the preview modes on those filter panels, I don't seem to find it. There actually is a check mark in Liquify panel for "Show Image", but it changes nothing for me. Maybe anyone has tips for that? 

Thank you.