Pause: I simply hit "space" when i want to pause the game fast. It puts the party into "turn mode" so worst case scenario the enemy will only get one shot before initiative kicks in.
Dialog: Totally agree. We should have a dialog log/window/tab so we can get all the witty comments from the party, regardless of where our edge panning has taken us.
Pathfinding: When I finished the harpies fight my ranger jumped from the 3th tier cliff to join my warrior at the beach. I'm sure you guys know what happened to her.
Minimap/UI: It needs a clock, like we have in many other games