Most of those issues stem from people recording with 30FPS. Having ridden thousands of miles with my GoPro's (1 & 2) mounted on my motorbike, I've come to realize that the quality is way better at 720p@60FPS compared to 1080p@30FPS. 120FPS @ WVGA removes the rolling shutter issue almost completely, but at that point the resolution is too low. I'm definitely looking forward to trying out 1080p@60FPS on the 3.
Are you sure you aren't misrepresenting the issue? I never had distortion issues with my Hero2, and looking on google it seems the rolling shutter issues mostly pertain to engine vibrations and aircraft props (?), which I don't really expect a $200 camera to be able to capture perfectly, action-oriented or not.
It is certainly not misrepresenting the issue, the rolling shutter is a big issue. Having said that, as a pro-sumer bit of hardware this camera is a fantastic deal. For true professional shoots the rolling shutter is problematic precisely because this is the type of camera that you will be putting in high-vibration locations. I've used these cameras extensively and they are great at what they do if you play to their strengths, but I'd definitely be willing to pay more for them if they move away from a CMOS sensor.