I was also frustrated by the loss of real estate from the tools/comment pane. There is a simple work around that I used. For any tools that you use regularly you can add them to the "Customize Quick Tools" which is the gear icon at the top. Then they appear at the top ribbon. Once you have all the tools you need there, you can close the comment/tools panes on the right side and that just leaves the scroll bar and you have all your real estate back. Hope it helps some others.
I was also frustrated by the loss of real estate from the tools/comment pane. There is a simple work around that I used. For any tools that you use regularly you can add them to the "Customize Quick Tools" which is the gear icon at the top. Then they appear at the top ribbon. Once you have all the tools you need there, you can close the comment/tools panes on the right side and that just leaves the scroll bar and you have all your real estate back. Hope it helps some others.