Commendations aren't about how well you played your job. They're about how much you contributed to making the duty a good experience for the rest of the party. They're fine as is.

What SE does need to do is change the requirements for earning mentor. Having it based on how many commendations someone can farm (they'll hit the required duty number in the process of getting the comms) plus getting a few jobs to level cap really doesn't do much when it comes to the quality of mentors.