Edit: Rereading this post I realise it reads like it's addressed directly at Jon, so my apologies if that's not the point of this public forum.
First of all, can I say that I just finished this game (having never played the original) and I adored it? I've never been a big fan of classic Sonic's handling but this is exactly what I've always wanted (plus I feel like it was a fair bit easier than the 2D games, which is a plus in my book).
After playing it I think the main thing I would request is, if possible, tweaks to the camera during the Final Fight? I would often find that when I ran to a corner of the stage (which is the majority of the time), the camera would pan ahead of Sonic, meaning that pretty much the entire stage would be offscreen. This game is awesome!!!!!