You said "Learning bad controls do not make bad controls any better". That, to me, doesn't scream you actually meaning "Learning controls that, to me, are bad, does not make controls that are, to me, bad, any better." To me, that reads as you just saying the controls are objectively bad.
As for the second paragraph, I'm not arguing that you can't find the controls unenjoyable. I'm saying that it's silly to say "this could easily have been done much better!" based on no expertise or authority whatsoever. It's far more logical to assume that this is literally the best possible control scheme given all variables that have presented themselves over the course of development.
The game deliberately made many compromises to fit this realistic sim feel they wanted to go for. It works in some places, and it doesn't work in others. The problem to me is there isn't a clear line drawn on enjoyment or functionality along with realism and detail. And that leaves the game feeling chorey or needlessly convoluted, and kind of cumbersome at times.
Are you seriously saying I need to be an expert game designer to see that? I have to be a pro in their field to say that I believe they could have made slight compromises to make the gameplay just a little better? What kind nonsense is that and are you gonna provide me with the evidence that says they could not have made this game any better? I have played many open world games, and while this may be one of the best... it does not do EVERY single thing better than those games. I might as well tell anyone who hates The Last Jedi that they aren't a hollywood director so fuck off lol.
You can discredit just about any criticism in the way you just did. Think about what you are doing and saying here. People have played these games for years and it's always the same complaints. This is not new territory for Rockstar's games and even the people who enjoy them have said this. And my evidence that they can make solid, fluid and responsive 3rd person action games with a reliable cover system is Max Payne 3 which they made lol.
They can easily do the above and slow it down for this game while keeping the controls responsive and concise to input.
This defense you have posted above is some new level of hand waving any opinion brought forth about the game's design choices or flaws that would be treated as flaws in any other game that was not has high profile.
I can literally defend Superman 64 by saying people tested it, that they intended for the controls to work the way they did, and that it could not have easily been better because you aren't an expert that knows any better... Along with the variables and yadda yadda yadda. Give me a break. There are things in this game that are actually quite counterintuitive and not good, believe it or not.