A large number of larger roundabouts in the UK have traffic lights at the entrances and exits. What do you find idiotic about it? Works extremely well to keep traffic flowing.
The point about a roundabout was to keep traffic moving, not stop it. If there are lights, there is no difference between a roundabout and a circular intersection.
When setup well, it couples the good points of a roundabout with the good points of a basic intersection.
They're usually seen though where you have maybe 7 or 8 roads coming together. If you didn't have stop lights, people from the smaller roads would never be able to enter the roundabout.