I agree with all your points.

The camera is usually a chore and it's only really there to make the cover system work. I would much rather play in first person view and make cover with third person view optional.
Sticky cover is the worst, especially when different actions are assigned to the same button. I want to roll past that wall, not stick to it, dammit. Many of my deaths in Uncharted 3 were because of sticky cover.
Down the sights aiming is ok for long distance shots, but running around with dual pistols or a shotgun should be possible.

And why bother with limiting you to 2 guns for the sake of realism if everything else is anything but realistic.
There is also too much emphasis on set pieces and constant action nowadays with a completely nonsensical level layout as a result. Levels that let you explore a realistic structure always stick around much more favorably in my mind then an endless sequence of oddly connected set pieces.

My favorite shooters in the past year are Resistance 3 (carry lots of guns, first person view) and Deus Ex: HR. (realistic/logical level design, don't have to shoot all the time)

Dead Space 1 and 2 are both TPS and don't have cover systems. They are good games. You should try them, but remember there's no crouching either. The only way to escape your enemies is to kill them, or sometimes outrun them. The latter is way difficult though.

Timesplitters was never an online experience for me.  Nor Resistance particularly.  Fair enough on TF2 and Quake 3 though.

Goodness, no. Remove the cover system and you get rid of the tactical aspect of shooter aka the only thing that can get me interested in shooters. I hate mindless run and gun. Twitch shooters can pull it off because of their focus on skill, but it's not as fun as thinking.

I disagree completly. I love all of those things and play shooters like %90 of the time.

1) yes over the head is better for 3rd person games. Simply a better view point.
2) I'd say both would be better. A crouch option when needed and a more realistic cover option when its there... including the ability to lay flat behind stuff... because you know some things are not always crouch height.
3) NINTENDO lock-on is best!!! Yes, having to force aim is a PITA, but its necessary for quality multi-player gaming. It adds a level of difficulty that is simply better. Now, pre-Wii Nintendo always used assisted aiming in games and when playing stupid AI, who cares. Aiming isn't what kills you anyways. But with Wii-mote or mouse controls, aiming isn't an pain and it really just makes sense. I'll take forced aiming with better controls any day.

Crouching is not very useful in a lot of games when you want to shoot out of cover.