I'm in the same boat. Sometimes the character models load in, sometimes they don't it and its quite frustrating. Regarding the timer ending too soon I think one possible solution would be for bungie to increase it slightly if it gets enough feedback. I don't like having to rush to guardian to guardian thinking how they played and making a snap decision. "did they do X well" or "was X helpful when I was in a tight spot" etc. It almost gives it a "that'll do" mentality if I just plonk down commendations willy nilly.