I remap caps lock to ctrl, since the ctrl key is also necessary for the command line, and the one on a Mac keyboard is in a painfully awkward location.

And remapping your vim shortcuts is great - when you're not constantly logging in to new instances or (don't ask) sharing logins with co-workers.

As I posted in another thread, I think it may actually be fine to have a different "feel" (touch vs physical) for escape, which is a very special key for us vim users (assuming you don't have it remapped).

I keep seeing posts about remapping but I honestly don't get it why users should be forced to hacks and compromises to replace functionality which had no reason to be removed in the first place.

It's not really for a compromise. I think caps is a much more useful button when remapped. For how often it's used, it should be in a more home-row centric location.