Well put. I'd have to agree with just about everything you said.
I will add, however, that while cheating is prevalent, it's not always the reason that people survive seemingly deadly assualts.
I've found through spectating and playing a bit that sometimes the easiest way to survive attacks (especially from rapid fire weapons which spread and therfore become inaccurate) all you have to do is strafe a lot and jump a little and most of the bullets will miss. I guess that's part of the "Hollywood Action" aspect of the game.
Sometimes I just wish there were a rocket or grenade launcher so I could say "strafe this you son of a @#$%!" and then hopefully get a kill.
Oh, and be careful with nades. I've gotten kicked for teamkilling because of a badly placed grenade more times than I would like to admit. I get pissed sometimes because I'll throw one and it's like my partners are trying to actively find and stand on top of them.
I'm like "No wai- kicked"