It's 2017, people are now used to simple interfaces in which everything just works and looks great. Your suggestions are all in fact spot on, but do try to keep this in mind; when Facebook was launched it didn't look as perfect as it does now. So yes, Steemit is still in beta and maybe not fully ready for big mass adoption just yet...
Personally I think that's a blessing in disguise. This gives you the time to perfect your blog and become an established household name here. Your suggestions will surely become reality at some point, until that moment, I'd suggest to just accept that Steemit is still in BETA.
Good points @fitzgibbon.
The "blessing in disguise" is basically how I've seen it all along, especially since Steemit has had steady growth in terms of number of active users in recent months.