Everything is working as designed. It's what I call "driving for dummies".
I just find a nice snowy, empty, light pole free parking lot, put it in 4wd, lock the center dif. and go at it. It's really more fun to do 4wd power slides anyway!
I haven't noticed much difference in wear between RWD and 4WD, and for that matter much difference in gas mileage either.
I run mine in 4HI from mid November until the snow passes in late March.
I have to agree. If the parking brake is applied correctly, there is no way you could drive away with it on.
You need to press the pedal all the way to the floor to apply it.
This really isn't a Toyota engineering issue, most cards today with aluminum wheels have this happen because of the interaction of the two differing metals. A little anti-cease between the wheel and the hub will eliminate this problem in the future.
I've carried a ladder on my rack with no problem, but you'll probably want to add something to the crossbars to keep from scratching them.
The hardest part is working out some easy system to keep it tied down.