I guess as long as it doesn't squeal, that's progress. Like you, I don't like how much the RPMs change when you move the controller. A little change is reasonable, but these things just sound excessive to me. I guess time will tell. As to the fan behavior while charging, I expect that as the battery gets closer to being fully charged, the charge current falls off - which would be typical. By the time it hits 100%, it's barely trickly charging, so no need for cooling. I've watched this effect on most of my other Lithium Ion devices. So that does sound normal.
I'll report on mine when I get it tomorrow....assuming UPS doesn't screw it up.
LP