1. Turn blocking is not only good 1v1. I use it in group fights throughout the video. It also doesn't really **** footwork—it actually works better with footwork, since you can control the strike angle and you're not at all prevented from moving.
2. Bashing isn't useless, but I guess we can agree to disagree? It's a situational tool that's saved my noob ass against plenty of better feinters, and it's "easier" than changing block direction for beginners, who suck at blocking, because you just have to hit E with your bad block up, instead of getting the right inputs under stress...
3. Everything you suggested — feint spamming, controlling distance, and working on blocking — needs training to be properly done. I don't think that invalidates kicking. I also don't think it's too much to ask beginners to hit E occasionally, especially when it doesn't disrupt your blocks at all... why not start training this early on? You won't unless you know that it exists, and that it doesn't eliminate your block.
Above all, I think you're mistaking these beginner tips/additions as substitutions for the three advanced tips you shared—spamming feints, controlling distance, and getting very comfortable with blocking, all of which take quite a lot of time to develop.