Your reports on these ARFs are not far from how I would report my experiences with ARFs. I have learned from the number of ARFs I had compared to the models I have built, that it is simpler to build from the kit and correct my own mistakes than dealing with either a design flaw or production error built into an ARF, then having to gather and replace all the useless hardware that comes with them.
Thank goodness for the short kit industry and Balsa USA for keeping the option to build still available. I looked pretty hard at getting the Maxford Newport, but after adding up the costs and the fear of dealing with issues in a half built plane, decided to go with the 1/6 Balsa USA option.