Well I did say "albeit clammy" because a damp towel will be near the dewpoint temperature. Meanwhile, a bone-dry towel can't bring about bone-dry skin. Ever try to put socks on immediately after bathing?
Alas there is no international towel standard for "dry enough to use". I mean dookie, if one starts at one's head and dries downward, by the time one reaches one's knees the towel is no longer dry no matter how dry it started out. Yet one continues using it down to one's feet. Doesn't one? Or does one use two towels, one to get damp dry and another to get damp drier?
"Dry enough to use" in my lexicon means dry enough to wick all standing water off the body, even if the dewpoint clamminess is less than comfortable. Which varies with latitude, season and sensitivity. Gimmee a break.
OK, intermittent pump. Us colonials don't have a great deal of exposure to that feature. Mostly the pump runs as long as the spin runs. Mine does. Every one I have ever encountered does. And it can be observed to produce about a tablespoon (9cc?) of effluent per minute beyond 90sec and above 1000rpm.
So try this test: Take a bone-dry towel, put a tablespoon of water on it, then use it to dry from a bath. Report results. Another test: Put a tablespoon of water in a pan, put it on a 1500W hotplate, report in kWh what it costs to evaporate. We're bantying fractions of a cent (centieuro in metric).
Shaded pole: They're inefficient as motors go, but as long as they are not operated abusively they are preferable to mechanically-coupled pump drives in terms of MTBF. Though friction elements may be cheaper to replace at wearout than entire motors. Nothing's ever simple or certain.