HBO wants to keep these shows in the conscious for longer than Netflix, who can probably never put that genie 🧞*♂️ back in the bottle.
But honestly, weekly episodes is how HBO always works (Game of Thrones, Westworld, all previous shows before bingeing became a thing). It's that three-episode "premiere" that's different. And probably smart, as you say, because of the Netflix genie that's been let out of its bottle.