Hello, thanks for the feedback! These kinds of long rants are very valuable to me.
First, I am aware of the weapon fire rate increase bug, with Cecil's patch. And I think they're aware of it too. They're probably waiting for a full version to make a tweaked version for the patch, but I'm also looking for a solution. Also aware of the collision bugs with the cluster grenades and I think I might have just fixed it for the next update. And that sound file has been bugging me for a while. I am certain that I have already placed it within the Atlantis rar file.
Fast monsters is a decision I've been meaning to go back on. In the beginning, I added it, just to see if I can and a lot of people have told me it's fun. But I do like the idea of a game mutator, where you can set enemy speeds and reaction times yourself. Perhaps a variable, ranging from reasonable difficulty tweaks, to ridiculous amounts of speed. I shall look into it.
Fight difficulty tuning is always a very difficult process. I'll look into what can be done with the fights you mention. And melee attacks have been broken since the original games. There's a very fine line between the enemy being able to hit you from very far away and being way too easy to dodge.