Pretty much everything you complained about, I liked. I have other things I wasn't liking too much, but otherwise yeah, your complaints are something I felt the game needed in order to make it what it is.

But then, I like Cloud, I like the battle/stagger/paradigm system (it's certainly ten times more involving than any previous FF incarnation I can think of, where you get to a certain point that you do nothing but attack throughout every battle).

I found XII to be annoying, so I guess we're just completely different audiences that SE has catered to in one way or another!