Keep in mind that some of these official factions do in fact keep their independents very well in line. We just don't see that often as they don't work on the scale that we do, and we're both on our own ends of the community with little overlap.
As for the rest, there's little else I can say. We're on the same page and we'll both write a book before we reach that conclusion.
All I have left to offer is the observation that the one major hurdle to good roleplay and a tightly bonded social community even among the well-seasoned vets here is that this is the internet, and social skills aren't always in abundant supply.
Once everyone's got 'spaceship computer game' solidly in mind when debating the finer minutae of faction powers, we'll all come to agreeable solutions that much quicker.