I'm still torn on this game. Since it's unlikely I'll be be able to try before I buy I guess I'll ask about my concerns here.
Answering your questions rapid-fire rather than quoting each.
- GW2 has a very action-oriented play-style. In most MMOs, combat boils down to you standing in one spot and trading blows with the enemy. GW2 requires you to read enemy telegraphs and dodge out of the way, take notice of the environment and use it to your advantage, work with other players for combination attacks. The only time you should be standing still in GW2 is when you're at the bank.
I would say GW2 has the most "Dark Souls"-like combat of any MMO. This includes TERA, which seems more action-y but has this weird "stand still for every attack" thing going on that ruins it. Complaints about the game feeling floaty are limited to transitional animations where the players are moving in one direction but the animation is briefly moving in another (transitioning). They chose to allow greater control rather than smoother animation. Given that other MMOs have notoriously terrible animation, this has always struck me as a nitpick.
- No grinding. The leveling curve in GW2 remains level after Level 30. Unlike other MMOs where you spend 3 hours going from level 20-21 and 3 days going from Level 50 to 51, the time it takes to level remains consistent throughout the game.
- The world is constantly changing; dynamic events ripple throughout each zone, and they're constantly introducing new ones. Failure in a dynamic event leads to a completely different chain of events. The only parts of the game that are instanced are dungeons, the personal story (others can accompany you in both) and resource deposits (which means you no longer fight other players for ore, plants, etc.).
- You can level up any way you like; PVP, PVE, World vs. World. If you have access to mats, the developers have stated that pure crafting experience can get you to level 80 too.
- There is no endgame. You don't level up to get to the good stuff. The good stuff starts at level 1.
I've been watching some in-game footage of beta players as well, but a lot of the people playing seem to play it as an MMO (just tanking the damage and not dodging at all) and other people simply walk around.
Those people, as many here will attest, are playing it wrong. Tanking damage gets you killed quick.