I almost always operate my mail from the preview pane - I rarely actually open an email.
In the morning I go through the unread messages (sorted with the new mail on the bottom) and once I have read it in preview I will often delete it.
Where the list of mail in my inbox is greater than one screen, after deleting the messages the inbox list reverts back to the top, rather than down tot he next unread message.
It does not revert to the top where the total inbox list is less than a page (a rare occurrence for me)