I find the surfaces to be really annoying. The OP made some good points; I have a couple to add.
1) Cantrips should have very limited effects. I'm fine with a cantrip creating a surface, but that should be the only thing that it does. Throwing a bolt of frost at someone for damage should be a separate thing from creating a sheet of ice beneath their feet. When you get into higher-level spells, maybe it makes sense to have a single action do both, but not with cantrips. This is especially annoying when you've got a wizard that needs a way to deal some damage, but doesn't want to create a surface as a result. If you're going to create surfaces as a character, it needs to be intentional.
2) Surfaces shouldn't last forever. Fires should burn out. Ice should melt. Acid should eat through things until it's neutralized. It's frustrating to finish a battle and be stuck behind a wall of fire and not be able to wait it out or dismiss it or anything. I understand wanting to use surfaces as a tactical element in combat, but I want walking around outside of combat to be easy (outside of instances where a surface is placed specifically to be a challenge, of course, but then it had better have some explanation for persisting).
+1
Creative uses of cantrips are fun. They added extra uses for weapons, so extra uses for cantrips are fair too. But it should be one or the other. Firebolt at someone for a lot of damage, or tag their feet to make them move. Same for ray of frost.
+1 to the OP too.
Fire arrows and acid splashes in every single fight is annoying. I've had my entire party dropped in a goblin ambush far too many times. It's not a one off thing. It's al the time.
