Profiles were they a Mistake?

It takes maybe 2 seconds at most to switch favorites or profiles. You now have a quick access to 12 abilities and 4 classes instead of 4 abilities and 1 class.

It's fine if you don't use the system but to call it limiting seems idiotic

Honestly I'm on my 3rd playthrough and although I've set up different profiles I've yet to actually switch during combat. I think I might have changed profiles between missions a couple of times but that's about it. I'd say it's an interesting idea and I like that the option is there for people to use, but I kind of prefer having my different Ryders be different classes (Engineer, Vanguard, Soldier so far).

I'm hardly one to defend the feature, but it really shouldn't work that way. Each class was always supposed to be able to deal with various enemy defenses in a different manner. Profiles continue that legacy in MEA's classless system. If anything, it would be somewhat broken if the only way to solve your tactical problem was by switching profiles.

I hardly switch profiles mid-fight. I use it the same way you do. One of my skills is taken up by the AI bot, so I effectively only have a primer and detonator skill to play with.

Pretty much the same thing.  The bot in effect acts as a defensive power taking fire and bullet sponging for you along with doing some damage.

Having all the skills has never ruined a game for me. I mean skyrim IS an example of that as you have access to ALL the skills and could play any class at any time. I don't lose the motivation at all really.

There's a respec station in the Med-Bay on the Tempest.

As they have been implemented, yes. However, I believe they could be improved if each profile had its own cooldown bar/timer, ala Lightning Returns' multiple ATB gauges.

It might if you were able to max out even most of the skills quickly, but even in a thorough run, you may still have a bunch of abilities that have no points invested in at all, especially if you're prioritizing some that you want to max out fully outright.

My first playthrough of MEA took over 110 hours. (I think I may have spent 122, but that includes pausing and the like.) Even though I'll likely shave a lot off of that time, it's still a long game. I can complete the entire OT (always a completionist), with no rush, in less than 100 hours. Favorites, which I think is the actual topic, allow me to bring instant variety to the game. Being trapped with the same build throughout would decrease my enjoyment, now that I've experienced this freedom.

Does one need to switch Favorites on the fly? Of course not. I have done so a few times, though. I'll likely do so more, as I become more used to using the feature. Sometimes, when foes are elevated and behind cover, you really wish you had Singularity or Pull in the group. Now, I always do. Similarly, I've switched from a tech-caster to an Infiltrator-caster mid-battle, as circumstances inspire me to do so. It sometimes makes me think of Alec and SAM, when I do swap, and the story behind this capability. That's a nice bonus.

I'm not sure why everyone is hung up on the cooldown times. If you've optimized your cooldowns, the delay before powers "come online" is very short. Is it that hard to survive 3 or 4 seconds without power-spamming? Fire your gun a few times, and then you can continue throwing powers.

Personally, I think profiles limit replayability somewhat.