Hi,
Agree with all your points. The main thing I am looking at here is kind of the operation of the world without the players in it. The best RPG I ever played in was run by a guy who had the world (in D&D) tailored and so well set up that it ran without needing PCs, and made it much more believable, IMO. While I love T2K as a game, I always felt there were some problems with the setting description of the towns and villages, etc., (e.g., populations) from the various adventures that didn't gel so well. While it makes for some good adventures as described, I personally look at it and go "so how does this work?" Blame the analytical streak in me
and each to his own, of course.