> I see massive bizarre and difficult to grok type declarations that grow in excruciatingly byzantine complexity just to satisfy the compiler for non-trivial flexible function definitions.

Is this better or worse than no type definition? Whether or not a type is defined it is still consumed. I can totally understand that sometimes types can get a bit unwieldy, but those are the exact scenarios that save future-you from introducing a bug because you didn't know what a variable is (and is not). At the very least it may be an indicator of poor design/code smell when the above occurs.

I hear you on compilation/build process woes. That's the fairest criticism against TypeScript IMO (though it's a fairly weak argument as well).

Most of your other critiques aren't really levied against TypeScript, rather, your work environment (not that it makes working with TS any less painful!).