Yeah so it costs 1 DRK to get 10k coins with arguably overkill (8 rounds) anonymity. This is expensive??!?

For smaller amounts it may be a bit high, but if you only have 5 DRK then just use less rounds. Lowering fees has already shown not to work on mainnet. Plus the same miners that DRK supposedly hates get these fees...
Well, as you say it's not expensive for large amounts, but for someone who wants to anonymize $50-$100, the fee can be as high as 1%, assuming 8 rounds and a DRK price of $5. I have no idea how much more anonymity is gained with 8 rounds versus 2, but I foresee most users opting for the highest number of rounds.
Anyway, I assume these are things that can be adjusted depending on market conditions. Regardless of the fees, I'm extremely pleased that the core tech is working for me.