Hi there,
I am also against your 4th critic and I want to add that icons help users to know — not to guess — what the next tab is.
The fade in/out animations of the text so too subtle to add into cognitive awareness, contrary keeps user focus where he* can perform any action. Inactive tabs are disabled anyway — besides multi finger application killing — , so your fovea focuses on the part where your brains finds easier. Text or application screenshot, which one is an easier pattern to recognized.
Fovea: the area in the eye which is responsible for sharp vision. Fovea is only about 1% of the retina but visual cortex devotes 50% of its area to input from the fovea.

I really admire your comments and inputs about interaction design, about everything else you hit the top of the nail.
