Br1ck, I know you're one of those players who prefer to keep the original tuners on a guitar (ease-of-use be damned!) but have you actually played a guitar set-up with these particular tuners?
Yes, and I'll agree they are crap. I have no problem with people replacing them. My view is as long as a tuner works, I prefer originality. Ease of turning and smoothness of use don't bother me so much. I had a modern slotted Martin with very stiff tuners, but they worked ok.