Combining the additional 8 pages of comments from RPG.net with the additional comments here, these are my thoughts:
Talents as skills: I am not in favor of doing away with all talents as skills. Some make sense: Magic enabled melee vs mundane usage. That knight might be able to swing a sword better than you at 1st circle, but he's probably been at it longer.
My point is, don't do away with Talents as Skills, but take a long look and
remove any skills that seem like they couldn't be done without the aid of magic -- isn't lizard or great leap a skill . . . seriously?. Someone used Battle Shout/Bellow earlier. This example might work but then again vikings roared without magic (just berserker shrooms) so instead of eliminating, maybe lower the bonus.
For skills, just do a better job organizing them. Put them in groups: Martial Skills, Artisan/Crafting, Survival, Social, and Theological/Academic. Additionally pair them down, or hell increase some, but reduce the implausable skills that double as talents. From an organizational standpoint, refer the page number if the talent is a skill and vice versa. If you don't want to double the text, then put any differences of the skill with the talent description but still put an entry in the skills section just refer to the talent page number. For me, skills were never done well enough.
Removing Redundant Talents: I don't mind reducing Impressive (shot, strike, etc) into one talent. You explain the application for each discipline and the sole purpose of it is for social situations. It's in the title of the talent for crying out loud. Look at the talent from the perspective of someone who has never read the previous editions. They won't know and will simply say, ok this talent can be used by multiple disciplines but in extremely different ways. I do agree with possibly putting a parenthetical name for each discipline the talent applies to so as to give it some kind of distinction, and doing so doesn't add 3 more paragraphs.
The Step System/Rules integration with Setting: This has been said ad nausea: The rules are so well integrated into the system and visa versa that to do away with them would be an injustice. You can make a new addition without killing the rules. Tweak sure but I love the system. I love the step system. Have people become so lazy/stupid that figuring out the math isn't possible anymore? It's pretty simple without getting into success levels. Your target number is set by A, you need to roll A or higher. Add secondary effects: completing the spell, adding damage, etc. Could spellcasting be simplified? Yes. For me the step system was a bonus. I have the D20 oversimplification. By the time you hit level 15 or so the d20 becomes the bonus b/c you cannot possibly miss!!! Don't roll a one became a phrase all too often heard. I loved my ED exploding dice and the step system where I got to get a box lid (usually the Barsaive Box Set Cover) and chuck a buttload of dice into it to see what I got. I like the Armor of 1E over THACO. Armor in ED makes sense. It absorbs damage. Anything you got above the rating means you found a kink, cut through it, etc. To me the rules define and make ED unique. If you can simplify them without destroying the intrinsic awesomesauce, then go for it.
Secondly, I loved the integration of the rules into the setting. It seemed very organic and never an obstacle. There was little rules lawyering (unlike D&D 3 and 3.5) as well.
Thirdly, I'll echo the sentiments of including an Appendix in the book that is a friendly rules only sections with all the most used tables and such for quick reference. Additionally an amazing index and glossary (if need be) would be great. Organization is key to the amount of information presented in these books, and not just source books. I''d love to have them included in adventures as well for quick reference to an NPC a GM might want to use outside the adventure.
Book Quality: Edit, edit and edit some more. LRG was horrible at typos. RB was better at it, but it still happened. I know 100% error free is a pipe dream, but man get it close. I can understand rule corrections/updates, but words better be spelled right and sentences written well. Word's grammar/spell check isn't enough!
Make the text clear and not too small. Principles of design and all that. TBH I like 1e's layout, but that's me. I don't mind 3e other than size. The text is too tiny. Is it smaller than 8pt? I'd say don't go below 9. I'll not talk about art at this point. I trust Jeff L. as the art lead. I love his work in SR and ED. Hopefully there will be plenty of other artists getting involved. Just be sure the covers grab peoples' attention. ED1 did that amazingly well.
That's all I have for now I guess. It's Friday and I want to leave work!