Doc;
So many points you raised. Some I agree with, some I certainly don't agree with. My opinion of the Arduino movement is that is has brought more new people into this wonderful interface of hardware and software creation ability, and is approachable by almost anyone of any means and abilities, no matter what background they start from. It's not that the arduino platform has the best IDE, or ueses the best tool chain, or that it uses the best processor or hardware, but rather that it uses the simplest possible of those items that still allow one to learn the basics of both programming and circuit design and constuction. I have yet to see a better product to date that does that as well and includes the best support forum I have come across. And all open source hardware and software to boot. They scored a touchdown in my book, but then again I don't think they even had a clue when they first started to develop their project of what it was to become. The original goals of the project were not even close to what the outcome was to become.
I'm sorry if the Arduino platform has not been successful for you to meet your personal goals for why you obtained one, but I'm sure you have gained knowledge and experiences that you may not yet realize, if for nothing else then to help further define and refine what you like and don't like in a micro-controller development platform.
Lefty