Considering that Dragon Age: Inquisition was pushed back to 2014 (I think it was originally scheduled to be released during Fall 2013), it seems like Bioware and EA are genuinely not trying to rush this game like they did with Dragon Age 2. I'm personally not a fan of reused environments, and I disliked them in Dragon Age: Origins (e.g., the random encounters, several environments in Awakening, etc.), Dragon Age 2, and the original Mass Effect, so I'm hoping that the longer development cycle will limit their need to reuse environments. Additionally, I recall a post by David Gaider saying that their ability to implement multiple races for the protagonist as being a product of the delay, so it seems like Bioware is really taking its time to make the next game as good as it can be.
As for the second point, I think that my favorite part of Dragon Age 2's combat was that it was much more responsive than Dragon Age: Origins. For example, playing as a melee character in DA:O often required you to press attack or an ability, slowly walk to the target, and then finally be able to perform your action. Furthermore, often if your target was moving, you would have to repeat the same action again, which was pretty painful at times. In contrast, when you select a target to attack in Dragon Age 2, if your melee character is at a particular distance, he or she would lunge or charge at the target, dramatically reducing the time between selecting an action and performing it (thus, more responsive). While I haven't seen too many gameplay videos yet of DA:I, the gameplay I have seen does seem to suggest that the sequel is retaining the responsiveness of the second game.
For the final point, I can agree that the ending of Dragon Age 2 had fewer plot branches and ultimately resulted in similar endings, and it would be nice to see a return of a much more branching ending. However, I'm of the understanding that DA 2 was originally supposed to get an expansion called the Exalted March, which was scrapped in order to start working on DA:I instead, which I assume was originally supposed to bring more closure to Hawke's story and possibly offer branching outcomes. With that said, I liked Bioware's effort to create a more atypical RPG story with Dragon Age 2, where the protagonist isn't able to always succeed (which was likely necessary to transition the Dragon Age world from the Blight to the new conflict). Had Dragon Age 2 received more development time, I think it's smaller-in-scope tale would have been much more fleshed out and successful.
At least for now, it seems like Dragon Age: Inquisition is turning out to be a great game. With the return of DA:O elements like racial choice for the protagonist, the tactical overhead/detached camera view, and customizable armor for companions, as well as aspects from DA 2 like the voiced protagonist and more responsive combat, and finally new elements like a bigger, explorable world, I personally have high hopes for the next game.
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