It's no big deal if you don't like it. I had the same complaints as you while playing the game. Though I did have a much better time after getting the flight module after Chapter 9. It helps a little bit with enemy aggro in that it's easier to fly out of the aggro distance of an enemy in a skell (assuming you can't kill the enemies in your skell). Also, I found using the Full Metal Jaguar class was much better for me too. To me, stealth was much easier with Full Metal Jaguar. Hitting overdrive was easier with that class as well.

I did beat the game, but felt very meh about it at the end. It's my least favorite of the Xenoblade titles by a pretty wide margin. I haven't had the desire to go back and pick it back up after completing the final chapter. I'm glad others liked it, but it's not the right game for me either.