1: I think ATC EDI is excellent. There's a tailback every now and again but nothing too drastic.
2: I live in Cramond and can categorigally state that at only a few mile out I can track and hear the guys doing a visual FAR before the vectored guys. largely because they try to dead-stick it all the way down to 500ft and then throw on the power for the 'stabilised approach ' criteria.... you may feel like chuck Yeager doing it but to anybody on the ground in the know it's annoying because you've just saved yourself the exact sum of 20 seconds and pissed off 5000 families to make your willy feel bigger......anyway many airlines (orange 737's for one) specify in SOP when you should configure making the old hot-dog visual approach a waste of time.
3. I spent some time flying in places where ATC was terrifying if they even answered you, so I for one think ATC in the UK is one of the best in the world and if they make me wait 30 seconds longer on approach than I'd have taken if I'd inverted the aircraft and worked out my own three times table then so be it. life is stressful enough, I like being confident in the ATC service i use and I think if they vectored you so tight together that several of us did have to throw away approaches you'd get the exact same neds protesting that ATC was wreckless and didn't they know basic separation minma etc.
4. BF wind your neck in.
5. ATC chaps. nice job.