Please just do something :) I don't see why you can't supply the kernels with oprofile working in timer mode with a usable sampling frequency *right now*. That should be enough for the helpless users who can't or don't want to tweak and build their own kernels. And some kind of workaround for A8/A9 PMU can be always applied later once/if you get it working reliable enough.
Be assured we consider timer mode granularity the highest priority aspect of this problem. My questions about using counter mode are to see if there is anything that could also be done there. Addressing issues with counter mode operation is lower priority but I have to ask the question while I have the attention of those that have the answers.