Big fan of this post. Some really good suggestions in here.
13) add a crafting panel so we don’t have to scribble every single recipe down or look to 3rd party sources on the internet.
You'll be happy to know they're working on this. Right now, the game saves the last 8 recipes you've crafted for each crafting class. So it saves 8 Leatherworking recipes, 8 Alchemy recipes, etc. They're working to expand that. I doubt they'll add every recipe in the game so you can just look it up -- since FF typically makes you discover the recipes yourself -- but we'll see what Yoshi-P decides.
15) My toon is just standing there like a T-1000. Not even a damn Legend of Zelda like kicking the dirt off his boots, fidgeting, or stretching out and yawning.
Actually, all the characters breath and sway slightly. The breathing is more pronounced in Lals, which breath with their whole bodies, like they're smokers or something. But all races move a little.
16) to go back to crafting, it just takes too long to craft or gather even the simplest of items and materials. How about varying crafting time based on the difficulty or simplicity of the item you’re making?
At some point -- maybe level 15? -- you get Hasty Hand. (Link in text) That skill allows you to succeed or fail a synth in one shot. You get a lot less SP -- often you get none -- but it's a good way to crank through low levels synths for materials you need at higher levels.