CQ5 with InDesign, Bridge, and Drive

Question

We make lots of catalogs. We use the full CS5 suite currently, and are considering purchasing CQ5 as the repository for the assets and then to move on to the web content management. Some thoughts and questions on how CQ5 might support a print production flow:
All our assets for the catalogs will be in a CQ5 repository.
1) We need to use InDesign's Place command to get assets from the repository into InDesign. Therefore Drive's role in virtualizing the repository is a must have. Our system integrator is telling us to stay away from Drive because Drive 3 is buggy and hasn't been tested thoroughly with CQ5. Well Adobe, no production ready Drive vitrualized repository then no sale. Any thoughts on CQ5 and InDesign working through Drive in high volume, large file size environment?
2) InDesign has a fabulous feature called Live Caption. It's a dynamic text box that shows the File-->Info metadata of any image the text box touches. We incorporate this heavily in our print production workflow. Through XMP we built a custom File-Info palette for images. Then with the Live Caption we can dynamically display that info - image name, item number, styling notes, color. Works great. We'd like to workflow the pages and images and metadata through CQ5, but CQ5 doesn't write metadata back out to the file info, so therefore we would no longer be able to take advantage of InDesign's Live Caption feature. What is involved in getting CQ5 to write select fields of metadata to the file info metadata so we can use it in InDesign Live Caption? What's involved in using Bridge to change the File Info metadata and have that properly update the corresponding metadata in CQ5.
3) We routinely reuse images. For search and reuse capability, the DAM has to automatically record the relationships of images on what pages and what pages have what images. That allows us to search for an InDesign page and see all the images on it, and also search for an image and see all the InDesign pages where it was used. This functionality is completely out of box with other content management systems designed to support print. It's certainly a feature I'd think would be out of box for the Adobe suite, but it isn't in CQ5 or doesn't seem to be. How might this be done?
Very, very disappointing that Adobe CQ5 does not have a better understanding of print production workflows. If it did, then Adobe would have an unbeatable multi-channel story to tell.

Answer 1

Since I put it out there, it's fair that I step up.  This is a list of 30 enhancements to the DAM landing page only. And yes, I know what the sales folks would say: "we can do all those things." But, just not interested in paying staff or consultants to customize in order to get what are mostly obvious and expected.
Overall, the interface is a mish mash of buttons, links, folders, grid - it doesn't know what it wants to be. Is the interface supposed to mimic a file system, a web page, a spreadsheet? The schizophrenia creates confusion as end-user can no longer rely on their past experiences working on a common interface. Pick an interface metaphor and own it completely. (Rebuid it in Flex.)
Implementation of functionality is so incomplete. It clearly was put together foremost to meet a checklist for the sales team and not to be great software. Search – check; Thumbnails – check; Copy and Paste – check and check. But, the incomplete implementation of every one of those is downright demoralizing. When functionality is added – please make it complete and great.
The buttons across the top for Home, Websites, DAM, Campaigns, etc. should be selections in the left nav similar to the way Outlook lets you select Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Notes, etc. This would free up important real estate and move some elements that are selected maybe once or twice during a session.
The menu choices at the top New, Copy, Paste etc. are implemented like links, but the should really be built with standardized menus and selections. File->New, Edit->Copy, etc. This would be intuitive to end users and facilitate easy growth and organization as new commands are added.
The menu choices should be context aware and toggle when applicable - Activate Deactivate and Copy Paste for instance.
The search box on the right needs significant enhancing. (I do see how it may be more effective when searching in Websites, but in DAM it is woefully incomplete.) A couple of quick ones: need better indication of what location you're searching – current folder or whole repository; need options for searching content or file names; results list is too small; need ability to switch to advanced. It's probably all configurable but with a little thought it could have been great out of box.
EVERY file of any type that's in the repository should get a gorgeous scalable thumbnail automatically. Adobe owns Scene7 and Acrobat - of course this can be done. For me, sadly, for thumbnails to be so incomplete reveals a lot about the strategy and priorities of the folks making the software. See #2 above.
Should have a View menu that lets you select from multiple out of the box views, including:
The Standard view, which should have a slider to control the size of the thumbnails.
A Thumbnail view also with a slider to control size.
A cool Carousel view.
A plain List view, which doesn't have thumbnails.
The List view should have a feature where when you rollover you get a thumb preview.
The columns don't size in a common intuitive way. Sizing one column shouldn't alter the size of the other columns.
Should be able to create columns in the list views of a metadata attribute.
Should have a small drop down arrow for all items that displays a pop-up of the details info. This would save a lot of clicks opening to view the details, closing, and then trying again.
Needs a Cut command (which would fall with Copy, Paste, and Move under an Edit menu). Cut and Paste would in some cases be easier and more intuitive than using the full Move dialog.
Needs a Rename command (which woud also fall under an Edit menu). Using the Move command for a rename is not ideal.
Could use a Duplicate command (or the Move dialog could have a check box in it for Duplicate).
Should show at the bottom of the window the number of items in the window being browsed.
Should show user info and role somewhere.
Should have an option at the bottom for viewing all on one page.
Should have a drop down for selecting how many to view on a page i.e.16, 50, 100, all.
Should be able to have saved searches appear as Smart Folders in the left nav.
Default Smart Folders for left nav should include most recent, checked out, in workflow, to do.
Need to be able to launch any asset into its native app for editing (in combination with Adobe Drive installed).
Tools dropdown should have a choice for Audit, which shows the file's complete history including:modification history, number of times downloaded, by who, workflow steps, etc.
Ability to select an asset (or multiple), and click an email link to send it as an attachment.
Ability to have Favorite folders in the left nav. Would allow you to jump around without navigating the tree.
Would be cool to have folders in the left nav that map to folders outside of the repository. You could create some really neat import and export functionality for the DAM.
There are more, and thanks for the time.