@Tuco On a small positive note, and perhaps a naively hopeful one...
There is a Formation screen in DOS 2, which forced characters to rearrange their positions when combat started; so perhaps Larian is working on that whole concept in order to improve the positioning of characters both out of combat & when it starts. It might be added later or on 1.0, as the mechanic doesn't always work as you would expect. Sometimes it's decent, sometimes it just clumps all of your party together. If the system is here to stay, this band aid for the formations might arrive at a later date aswell.
However, this is just treating some symptoms, as summarized by Drath Malorn, rather than addressing the underwhelming mechanical capacity of the Toilet Chain.
