You seem awfully harsh on Time Machine, at least if the perjorative results from the three complaints you mention.

I'm not sure what usage model you expect, but a requirement that a constant backup device be well-defined seems like a necessary feature if you want any stability at all, while the battery feature you mention also seems like an appropriate safety precaution with a minimal cost given that restores should be performed infrequently, and when you most need them to be correct, could be quite lengthy.

Finally, if the lack of dependency info qualifies TM as brain-dead, perhaps you can propose an integrated system that includes this life-giving feature? Copland never made it past dreamware, if that's your standard.

Click to read the article this is in response to.