Been using it a couple weeks now, it's actually not too bad. Trying to get used to Unity as it's obviously not going anywhere. I'm still not a fan but it is improving.
The second release I tried again. It almost passed muster, but it was still just too buggy.
The third release I tried again.
I never went back to the GNOME desktop.
I love Unity. It's not perfect. In things related to keyboard shortcuts in particular it's still got a ways to go, but it is good. So much better than the GNOME 2 desktop. (I've never tried GNOME Shell, so I can't comment on it.)
It's not the perfect desktop, but I've got it almost how I want it, and it largely gets out of my way. I particularly enjoy the two-second login time.