If the addition of muscle increases caloric use by, say, 300 calories a day (through increased metabolism and increased calorie burn during cardio) and you only increase your intake by 100 calories, you will still have a negative energy balance and lose weight.

It's not wrong to do only cardio, but it's not wrong to add muscle mass either. It all depends on one's individual biology and abilities, as well as your specific fitness goals. Sure, if you're totally unable of suppressing your hunger with water/tea and a cup of edamame (that's just what I eat when I have munchies, obviously it does not have to be this ) instead of a double cheeseburger and Pepsi, then, yah, maybe adding muscle mass isn't an incredible idea. However, I think that if you have that little ability to moderate your diet, you'll have some serious hurdles regardless of how hard you run. The recipe for disaster you mention is already in place and would likely be "cooked up" even with pure cardio.

Caloric use aside, there are plenty of other reasons to include muscle building. Improves over all body shape, keeps bones strong, replaces muscle mass that may be being utilized during negative energy balances, and helps maintain fat loss after the fact.

If an individual knows they'll have the problem you mention, then fine. As a generality, the risk of increased hunger is outweighed by the potential gains (not fat gains )