I have no real issue with fairness in RPGs or games in general but I come from the world view that life is not fair, so why should games be? Maybe it's because I grew up on arcade games where the CPU is always a cheating bastard or the game's rely heavily on memorization which is learned through frequent party death.

I don't really see why the computer should telegraph their moves, this always borrowed me because in a real fight this is unrealistic. As VeloZer0 points out, I often feel it is fine for the enemies to cheat because the player character are almost always overpowered. The main reason why I feel the best gaming battle systems in RPGs are Grandia's, MegaTen's Press Turn system, and Bravery Default's.... Bravery/Default mechanics are the best is because the rules apply to both the enemy and player. Why shouldn't bosses in Final Fantasy pull off their own game ending Limit Breaks, use Re-Raise, Final Attack Ultima, and make themselves immune to damage for a short period of time when the player can?

The closest to cheapness I have ever seen in an RPG usually involves the RNG and even then I am rarely bothered by it. I have bigger issues getting cheesed by KoF bosses than getting blindsided by an instant death spell that set me back a few hours in any RPG. Hell, I still feel that if it's nearly impossible to be killed in the first dungeon without being utterly stupid or trying to get killed, you did a poor job of building gameplay difficulty.