How could you hate someone with theme music this good:

I guess if it's what you like... but I swear the game just doesn't feel furious enough.

I was the same way when I first started playing SFIV, then I played as Balrog and never looked back.

I didn't say you're not very good at SF4, I said you're not very good with El Fuerte.  Even with the imbalance in the roster play skill (especially with a given character) is still far, far more important.  Tiers really only matter if you're playing someone on the same skill level as you and even then their effect is quite minor.  Top players win with "bad" characters all the time simply because they learn to play the with great skill and tier-whores don't learn to play against them that well. And don't forget, when Capcom said the game was imbalanced they also said SETH was too powerful, a guy who is as middling as Ken, so they don't even know what the hell they're talking about.  They just listen to complainers too much.

Also, Rufus and Zangief are good (and Balrog, who was already mentioned), while Blanka, Chun-li, and Bison are all decent.  Just because the one guy you want to play isn't competitive doesn't mean the game is absolutely terrible.

SFIV is pretty balanced, a good portion of the cast is pretty much viable and the characters that dominate don't really have many 7-3 or 8-2 match ups. I honestly think you probably just don't like the game and some of the mechanics, and the character variation online probably isn't going to change much with SSFIV since SFIV players will probably stick with their mains and newcomers love Ken and Ryu. You'll likely see some Juri, but I'm guessing players will drop her if she's hard to play like Viper or keep her and make her hated on pretty bad if she's good and easy to play. I played the SFIV for about a month and a half and realized I didn't like it - there's nothing wrong with that. If none of the new characters interest you I think it would probably be a better idea just not to get the game. The only reason I have any interest in this is because Deejay more or less is my favorite character in one of my favorite fighters, but I'm guessing after a few months I'll go back and play the new Blazblue game.

Just spend the money you would on this on that Terra thing you wanted. You'll probably be happier about that.

As I said, its all about aptitude (and practice). I've been playing Street Fighter and KOF since I was very young, so I guess thats why I am just at home with the controls. The major difference this time around is moves take finess instead of attacking the controller like I used to with other games. The game might be unbalanced to you, but you must realize that each character is unique and can be controlled in deadly ways if you know how to do it. My favorite characters are Ken, Vega, Crimson Viper and Abel. I use others, but they just aren't as fun for me as I feel at home with those characters. El fuerte is definitely about finess because he has a bunch of lucha moves which have to connect, so really with him focus on timing. Zangief....is hella easy to use (n cheap) because all you have to do is stay close use powermoves and grabs, Dhalsim is a ranged fighter so stay away and if enemies get close use the Yoga flame. Get what I am saying? The game is balanced, its just that the characters are  unique.