I personally have around about 6-7000hrs on R22's(not sure on precise figure cause I couldn't be bothered adding them up)most of which mustering cattle in Oz.
They are a very popular mustering tool as they are light,manoeuvrable,reliable and cheap on gas.
There are literally 100's of them mustering around Oz on a daily basis,clocking up many 1000's of hours/year.(can't quote actual figures)
I have experimented with the low/zero g situation as have probably very many pilots who have done the Robinson safety course.I found that recovery from the roll is almost instantanious with a little bit of aft cyclic ie. once the rotor system is placed back under load.Whilst I certainly do not recommend placing the A/c in a zero or negative g attitude, it is recoverable provided you are aware of it.
Incidently deliberatly placing any helo in this situation is fool hardy unless you think you can fly with half a tail boom!There are always ecceptions of course.
With regard to flying out of balance I can honestly say that during mustering op's, the A/c is very rarely flown in balance.Flying a little bit sideways increases the visability and allows quick stops at low altitude,whilst minimising the risk of a tail rotor strike.
I have never come into dificulties,I have never spoken to any one whom has had dificulties,nor have I ever heard of an R22 coming to grief whilst flying out of balance.
Helimustering in Oz was primarily conducted in Bell 47s and Hughes 300s before the advent of the R22s.Whilst I have 0 experience in the latter,I have around about 4000hrs mustering in the 47.
There is absolutely no doubt that the R22 is the easier and more forgiving to fly.This is because the low inertia rotor system allows quick recovery from an over pitch or low rpm situation.It spools up rapidly and is very quick through translation.
This of course leads to it's only down fall that I can think off...When the **** hits the fan!! Obviously emergence situations require a little more finese as there is little margin for error.
As for the incorrect rigging bit I can't comment. I only break them not fix em !
It is true that there are a lot of accidents involving R22s .This is largely due to the type of operation they mostly engage in ie.mustering and training. They are also cheap to fly and hence are very popular amongst the low Hr inexperienced fraternity.
I am confident that if you were to approach CASA Aust and ask for statistics on R22 accidents in Oz, you would find the vast majoraty to be pilot error.