This describes exactly my/our experience. Test recording can be a great time saver when used properly. Sure, a Java or Python guru can write a webdriver test in "seconds", but she usually does not want too. Plus the "seconds" often turn into hours of coding and debugging ;-)
It works well for what it does and covers basic recording/replay for the core commands. But it is a new project, and by no means a full replacement yet. Code on Github (GPL license).
Disagree 51%. Recording tests works well and saves tons of time in specific scenarios. It works especially well for "throw away" test cases that you need only for a few days, for example during development of a specific feature. So I consider your statement way too black and white.