I don't quite understand this about the Albion Online
You touched on some good points I have been wondering about with the cooldown times. I am also wondering about flagging. I do a lot of crafting/gathering, so my warrior side, while not exactly weak, is not leveled up like crazy. This makes me nervous about getting into PvP because I feel too vulnerable, even though I play the game a lot. I fight all the time (PvE) to level up, but I am no match for a lot of players, and certainly not multiple ones. I don't quite understand this about the game, and I would be curious to know your thoughts.
It seems odd to me that someone looking to kill players who are not looking for a fight (but the game mechanics have driven them into PvP zones), can go into said zones as "friendly," see another player, change their flag and attack them with no cooldown. If the crafter player gets knocked off their animal, they have the cooldown time and are even more defenseless. I could be mistaken in this, so correct me if I am wrong, but the times I have been attacked by a player posing as friendly, it appeared that they (on foot) were able to change their flag and attack instantly.
This seems strange. Maybe I am not understanding all the ins and outs of PvP- as I have not hunted other players- but when you are the attacker, and not in the defensive position, why should the game give you even more of an advantage? I see many complaints like the OP's that Albion isn't even more in their favor, including gripes that PKs can't see a Friendly count when in PvP zones, but there is a Hostile count. The Hostile count seems useless to me, though, considering how easy it is to change your flag and attack in a heartbeat.

Jan
Albion Online Guide: Fake attacks from tents solution
Like I said this would suck because it prevents you from sieging a territory and beating them in the long game. Starving them of resources and Albion Online Silver but it would also cut the effectiveness of the exploit in half.Or atleast lock them for X time if they send 0 players.

Aug
The full loot system is the single biggest defining factor of the Albion Online
Our group, and many others as well, moved up the line of progression described above, to the point where we could effectively 3 man our way through the T5 yellow zone vet dungeon

Aug
The P2W Debate In Albion Online
So is Albion Online P2W? Well in some cases we would have to say yes, but to be fair this is the case for most MMORPG’s.

Mar
Albion Idea for Guild Vs Guild Warfare
How guild size impacts how you play should be scalable. This means a larger guild just has more of the same thing, not access to more content. This scaling can be introduced in the form of Influence.

Dec
Albion Online beta will last most likely through all of 2017
A guild is just so much more fun in this game and always has been. Gathering is definitely possible solo though and many do so including myself.

Sep
PVE without risk of PVP is incredibly boring
Hell - they could even go as far as having territories contained in pvp dungeons. That would make dungeons interesting.