So I've put about twenty five hours into Bayonetta now, so it's safe to say I like this game. I loved the DMC games and this plays pretty similar. However, during my first playthrough of the game I was pretty close to writing the game off as "Ok, but not even close to as good as Devil May Cry 3," because of a few things.
 
First of all, this game cheap shots you. Frequently, cutscenes will end with enemies shooting or lunging at you, and when you take control, you have to dodge that attack. This wouldn't be so bad, except when you skip the cutscene and forget to mash Dodge. Sorry Platinum Games, but that's just cheap. There are also QTEs that will kill you when you fail them, which you almost certainly will the first time when you don't see them coming. All it does is add frustration to the game.
 

So I've put about twenty five hours into Bayonetta now, so it's safe to say I like this game. I loved the DMC games and this plays pretty similar. However, during my first playthrough of the game I was pretty close to writing the game off as "Ok, but not even close to as good as Devil May Cry 3," because of a few things.
 
First of all, this game cheap shots you. Frequently, cutscenes will end with enemies shooting or lunging at you, and when you take control, you have to dodge that attack. This wouldn't be so bad, except when you skip the cutscene and forget to mash Dodge. Sorry Platinum Games, but that's just cheap. There are also QTEs that will kill you when you fail them, which you almost certainly will the first time when you don't see them coming. All it does is add frustration to the game.
 

I think it is a close second to DMC3.  Niero is just a better villain than Jeanne.   I fought tooth and nail against Niero and I earned every victory against him.  With Jeane, it was more... predictable personally.
 
I agree that Luka is more Johnny S. from MGS4 in that he is just a lame character. 

I like Luka.  I'd agree though that Bayonetta has enough small nagging issues that pile up and hold it back from being the greatest action game ever made.  DMC3 still has that crown, DMC3 flows better, and the Dante/Virgil/Lady dynamic is just as good if not better than the set up with Bayonetta/Luka/Cereza.  Of course I understand Bayonetta has a much less serious tone than DMC3 had. (Young Dante shenanigans aside) It's just that Bayonetta had this nasty habit of going from OMFG awesome to OMFG BULLSHIT WTF IMMA BREAK MY CONTROLLER NOW FUK U PLATNUMB!!!!11!!!1 from stage to stage the further you got in.  DMC3 did a better job testing your skills as well, Bayonetta, with cheap shots right out of virtually every cutscene and some of the worst QTE's I've ever seen in a videogame, as well as poorly executed motorcycle and rocket shooter sections, leaned more towards testing your patience.
 
Too bad really.  But they just tried to do too much all at once, and as a result, Bayonetta can get very, very messy at times.

Finally, this game has a sequence where you ride a motorcycle and a rail shooter section (think Starfox). These parts aren't badly done, but they are most certainly way too damn long. About twice as long as they should be. Seriously, I looked at my times for the revelant Verses in the score screen after beating the game, and the motorcycle section clocks in at about eight minutes.

"  First of all, this game cheap shots you. Frequently, cutscenes will end with enemies shooting or lunging at you, and when you take control, you have to dodge that attack. This wouldn't be so bad, except when you skip the cutscene and forget to mash Dodge. Sorry Platinum Games, but that's just cheap. There are also QTEs that will kill you when you fail them, which you almost certainly will the first time when you don't see them coming. All it does is add frustration to the game."

The QTE are a little annoying but if you do fail it, you will probably pass it the next time because you're expecting it. 

Yup, I thought Luka was pretty annoying as well...... UNTIL I REALIZED HE WAS MOTHERF@*!ING YOSUKE!!!!  Oh wait, he was also pretty annoying...

I like Luka. :(
Some enemies are cheap, looking at you Grace and Glory, but it's rewarding to beat the crap out of them.

The bike sequence waaas a bit too long...

" Some enemies are cheap, looking at you Grace and Glory, but it's rewarding to beat the crap out of them. "

You are a wise man, indeed.  I tapped out a long-winded comment over on the EDGE website detailing pretty much everything you just outlined.  The cut scene attacks flowing into game play are total cheap shots.  And while the timing windows of the QTEs are pretty forgiving, they are so infrequent and spaced apart that you're totally caught off guard.  And like someone else has pointed out, a failed QTE is a death, and a death is a  permanent mark on your end-of-chapter score. 
 
My other problems with the game focused on the ludicrous, uninteresting story, the recycling of enemies, the softball puzzles, the overlong and un-fun motorcycle sequence...  It just seems like so many review were happy to gloss over these minor, yet very noticeable flaws.  The one thing I did forget about was Luka specifically.  Yes, he's not much of a character but neither is anyone else for that matter.
 
Bayonetta is definitely a game of insane, euphoric highs and really miserable lows.  Then the game is clicking, it's great. I love the combat system, the art design and the overall creativity put into how the game feels.  But man, it also seems to be trying to push me away every time I want to fully embrace it.  It's a confusing game. I want to love it but i can't.

  1)  I have no problem at all with the cut scenes, they force you to watch cut scenes attentively with fingers on buttons. I only died twice throughout my entire first play through, perhaps if you did the same you wouldn't have died so much.  
 
2) I liked Luka, it was pretty obvious to me what his slant of comedy was. I never skipped any cut scene in the game.
 
3) I thought both sequences were of a perfect length, I appreciated them a great deal as far as a means to rack up a high amount of points.         

"   1)  I have no problem at all with the cut scenes, they force you to watch cut scenes attentively with fingers on buttons.

2) I liked Luka, it was pretty obviously to me what his slant of comedy was. I never skipped any cut scene in the game."

 
First of all, this game cheap shots you. Frequently, cutscenes will end with enemies shooting or lunging at you, and when you take control, you have to dodge that attack. This wouldn't be so bad, except when you skip the cutscene and forget to mash Dodge. Sorry Platinum Games, but that's just cheap. There are also QTEs that will kill you when you fail them, which you almost certainly will the first time when you don't see them coming. All it does is add frustration to the game.   

 The next subject of my wrath is Luka. I have no idea why this Kato Kalin looking motherfucker is even in the game. His connection to the story is tenuous at best;  he thinks Bayonetta killed his father, then of course it turns out she didn't. That's it. Of course, on the way to that incredibly predictable revelation, he gets used for (rarely successful) comic relief and babysitting Cereza. 

 
   I'd advise anyone playing the game for the first time to just hit 'Skip Cutscene' whenever Luka appears. Don't worry, you won't miss anything cool or important.   

Oh, and there's a challenge mode like the Bloody Palace in DMC4, but the only way to unlock it is to beat all the Alfheims (secret missions), some of which are kind of a bitch to do. Lame. "    

Bayonetta is a game that puts women (or more literally, femininity) foremost in concept. Luka is there to show a part of Bayonetta's persona: She is strong willed, super-confident and powerful, but she is still has the heart of a woman underneath it all, and has affinitys for stuffed animals, pretty clothes, and confident yet goofy men that are determined to chase them and give them attention, even if she finds it hard to openly admit it, even to herself (just like in real life! :P). Luka and Cereza exist so that Bayonetta's persona sacrifices no part of a woman's femininity, and stops her from becoming just another super-bitch with funky powers. It's probably easy for a male to find Luka annoying as his endearing traits are anchored in the type of woman Bayonetta is, and what man really understands how a woman's mind works? :P

Luka is voiced by Yuri Lowenthall, so that means he's da best.

Your complaints are valid but, as you say, they are nitpicks. DMC 3 had just as many cheap shots and annoying sequences if not more yet you still hold it high on a pedestal. 

" The QTE are a little annoying but if you do fail it, you will probably pass it the next time because you're expecting it.  "

" The purpose of beating/playing the "challenge" levels is to be challenged.  Some of them are a bitch to complete because they are quite challenging... which is the point.  In general I was pleased with the format and feel that investing time into beating them often makes me a better player."

I agree with you about the motorcycle section (and other other similar bits) I was as fussed with the game when they changed the style of genre like that. However I don't get why you are attacking Luka on the basis of relevance to the story. It's fucking Bayonetta the story is ridiculous and makes no sense, who cares.

8 minutes!  Heaven forbid!