Hmm the sliding thing is still there, if you shoot while running, your character tries to face the mob and will "slide" towards it. You can stop it though by hitting the forward direction again to keep running. I was using mouse(hold right click and left click to move) to make it almost seamless(was still a tiny jerk when it tried to auto face). It only really happens there though so maybe it was worse in p2.
So after reading the scope thread on the forums I am a little less worried about quest content/gaps. From the post:
Main Story: Level 20 and below
Sub-Quests: Level 20 and below
* The quest "A Relic Reborn" will be available starting in phase 4. Players who accepted this quest in Version 1.0 will be able to resume their progress after reaccepting it in FFXIV: ARR.
Class Quests: Level 30 and below
* Quests for Disciples of War and Magic are available up to level 15.
* Quests for Disciples of the Hand and Land are available up to level 30.
and
* Numerous additional quests and content will be added following phase 3.
Also something I didn't even notice at all was your class choice in character creation depicted your starting city. I just thought there was a ton of conj, archers and lancers , but now it seems those are just the 3 that start in Granadia ;P