I changed the default path from:
'path' => ':webroot/upload/:model/:id/:basename_:style.:extension',
to:
'path' => ':webroot/upload/:model/:id/:style-:basename.:extension',

The REASON I did this was because I no longer need to use a helper to access files. I can simply hardcode the paths like this:

'path/to/' . $id . '/thumb-' . $filename

It doesn't make sense to have the extra load of a helper just to break apart a file's name and extension just to insert the style in the middle. Simply attaching it to the beginning of the file removes the need for the helper altogether.