My two cents (apart from saying "I agree" to most of your analysis).

Where Blizzard failed with regards to the Invasion was in the level of unplayability wrought onto lowbies. Personally, I would have opted for "whatever zone you die in, you become a zombie with a level appropriate for that zone". Thus, players leveling in Darkshore would stand a greater chance of fending off the onslaught of 70s who really (you have to admit) got their rocks off doing nothing but harassing lowbies. While "fun" for them, for sure, their fun came at the expense of making play miserable for others. Some balance should have been found here. Players wanting to grief Darkshore would have had to return to Shatt to be zombified there (if they wanted to retain higher level status) and then re-trek to Auberdine.

Also I agree that involving players in the quest to find the cure would have gone a long way to mitigating the frustrations felt by many trying to level for the new expansion. How about an Epic Trinket (heck, even a special "Tabard of Argent Purity") for anyone who did not kill another player while Zombified? Have the Argent Dawn reward those who remained pure even when inflicted with the Scourge. (Conversely, have those who ransacked as Zombies lose Argent Dawn rep, maybe to levels their alts would have to really work and grind hard to earn redemption?)

I guess my central point is that the event was "fun" only for a few, and left nothing but misery for others. Blizz should have found a way to compensate or balance that, so that those lowbies who were griefed mercilessly by bored 70s who corpse and npc camped low-level zones would have something positive to show for it.. as well as some chance to actually fight back.

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