I have to agree with you both. Now that Elena has rejoined the pack, her TFs will not be "involuntary". And one of the divergences from the book is the fact that in the series Elena (during the no-TF under the car) has managed to revert the change, a feat that is beyond from the normal werewolf capabilities. In the books, she has still some "TF issues" even after getting back to the pack.
About the production, I suspect that in season 1 there were two of them in the pilot for promotional matters, and well, the "big one" in episode five, ruined by Ms Vandervoort nudity issues (she forgets about that in her collaborations with Peta, though) and the age restrictions in Canadian shows (I suppose).
Even after all that, and the DVD version with nothing new to show (we all know that they could have done a nice "director's cut" with a little effort), the series is still interesting and I would recommend it. It is true that the "werewolf mafia" could become tiresome, but it is also not necessary to include the whole pack (witches, demons, vampires) as it is done in other shows to make it interesting... it is a different matter that they have utterly ruined the love triangle, as long as it is something that could have helped to keep the ratings higher :P.
I will keep you informed
, as usually.