agreed...
I have watched vids and seen pictures of mini nucs, from two standard frames down to tiny, tiny little hives that fit in your hand, with small frames in them.. As i understand it, the SOLE purpose of that little hive is to get a queen mated and returned.. But by the same token, i would think they would want to store some resources..
I have honestly never tried in the small boxes like that. I have helped a fellow that uses 3 frame nucs on a regular basis, and I use a 5 frame medium.. but I also use mine for brood factories and comb builders, so I get more out of them than just the queen.