Time Atac Pedals

They're not actually casual looking enough to make you look like you're wearing normal shoes and they don't provide enough of a benefit over just using clips and doubles to warrant them imo. If you want to cycle in shoes that will feel solid get something designed for cycling performance

That still doesn't answer the question of what makes them particularly 'crap'. All you've really given are objections based on preference. How formal a shoe do you wear on a daily basis to dismiss them as not casual enough? They simply look like a derivative of a pair of Vans.
http://31.media.tumblr.com/77077f89e8110d24ed0b5fa15aaca5c3/tumblr_mvy9pyTfa81qh2ly7o1_1280.jpg
How does that look like a pair of shoes gone wrong?

The second part is just as difficult to quantify. They feel solid enough for the limited purpose they were made for, otherwise they wouldn't have been made no?
They way I see it is, if you skid, forget them immediately. The laces will be your death. If you use brakes and are not riding a bike for sheer performance, consider them.
They're good at the limited functionality they were designed for.
Let's agree on one thing though, despite what we all think, no, we don't look good in bike shoes. No one does.