Strafing is quite hard in this game at close quarters, I often find myself losing track of the enemy when trying to circle strafe them due to the turning controls.
I did try strafing out of full length cover (like pillars) instead of peeking out. And while it is definitely quicker to do (ie. you don't have to move to the edge while holding L2, tilt the left stick, then click in the stick to aim etc.) I found that it makes you more susceptible to hits from enemies off to your side, the cover mechanic decreases the chance of enemies hitting you from the side while in cover.
If the zoom has no good reason to use, then isn't that rather counterintuitive and a flaw in the controls?
I like using zoom in shooters, relying instead on the autoaim seems rather cheap.
Another thing I have yet to figure out, is for weapons without a dot sight, what part of the sight do you use to aim? For example with the pistol (which I use 70% of the time) do line the upper tip of the sight with their heads, or just below the top to counteract the effects of bullet drop (if there is any). Cause trying to shoot the tops of their heads when they're in cover (or blindfiring out) is very hard, and I don't know if I'm missing their helmets or hitting them but due to the difficulty they take a lot of shots to kill.
The enemies are quite like Uncharted's in their constant ducking and weaving, but it's much harder to take them out in KZ2 due to the controls, I wish they were more natural.
For this game you need to give up any idea of circle strafing. It is guaranteed to get you killed in SP and absolutely raped in MP. You only want to keep the target in front of you because if it is behind you you're probably as good as dead already...it is imperative to prevent that from happening. Circle strafing is for games which dole you out considerable health and allow you soak up some considerable damage before dying. A circle strafe is just a constant turn after all. In most cases you rarely force your opponent human or AI to miss you doing that. What usually happens is whoever gets the drop first wins.
The strafing I'm talking about is good ole right to left or left to right will back stepping or moving forward. Be random if you have poor reaction time. If you are good at reading your opponent deliberately stay out of their line of fire in that case.
For KZ2 however in close quarters I am deliberate primarily because I want to hit the target as quickly as it can hit me(Higs don't give too many second chances and are never slow to draw) because only a few hits decides who walks away alive. Subconsciously I'm avoiding being hit as any FPS player would do out of instinct.
It really isn't hard to strafe in this game. It is my bread and butter and why I don't need to use zoom virtually at all. It wasn't so much me getting around the controls but finding it more advantageous tactically. I line up shots just fine behind cover and secondly I have the leisure to do so from safety. A bad aim means only to duck and try again. Still a healthy chunk of your battles will be mono y mono in close quarters and then all bets are off. Make the enemy miss or you strike first or you can just opt to die QUICKLY.
Behind cover I would suggest to simply peek and reset your aim repeatedly to account for movements. Strafing while covered tends to be slow and not enough to compensate for Hig movements. As you noted getting close to the edges of cover is a bad idea but typically you are not hit at the edges...you are simply outflanked by pesky Higs so you have to give up the cover all together. If not...Higs are definitely nicer to you than they are to me.
I was speaking about the zoom as a matter of battle tactics. In truth the zoom can be thought of as forgiving or punishing. Some shooters throw you in a pot of molasses anytime you zoom and others allow you move like The Flash and others yet still make it slow to get into and out of zoom views altogether. I'm agnostic to zoom and only judge if I get a tactical advantage from it or not. Helghast move too much and are too smart to let me line them up like fish in a barrel so it becomes more important to be able to see and track their movements at all times then zoom in for a few well placed bursts of fire for me.
I like the controls but understand how they can be difficult for you. I thought some things I'm doing for sheer tactical advantage may be of use to you as a coping mechanism (no pun intended).
For aiming down the iron sights the sight must cover your target so I guess the top of your gun might be an accurate way to put it.
When I can see the tops of Higs heads behind cover I am a little below their head. I then press forward on the stick to come out of cover and take a few shots. Alternatively if your feeling confident or want to practice safety first just pull the trigger and you will pop out for a shot and automatically pop back in to safety. Anyhow when I rise for the shot my aim will also realistically rise and hit the top of the Higs head. I do this without zoom all the time and is primarily how I earned the knock off a hundred helmets trophy with zero extra effort.
I can't offer anything about the weighty controls. You like them or you don't. They affect you or they don't. I was trying to see if there was anything I was doing that might make your experience more enjoyable in spite of your apparent dissatisfaction. I just happen to like them as I am always aware of my momentum so it immerses me more. Because I like the controls doesn't make them good or bad broken or not broken. Its my opinion of them and nothing more.