NodeBB is very flexible, and very easy to develop for. Give us a few months and I think you'll be impressed with how far its come, even if it still has room for improvement.
Speaking about this more generally, we are very interested in people's suggestions on what additions to pursue, and to discuss them. Just to set expectations: we can't guarantee that something will be added later, or provide a timeframe.
Linking to videos is fine, you just can't embed them.
While we'll only have black text on a white background for launch, that doesn't mean we can't add something later. The Light/Dark toggle on these forums was actually custom-build before launch because we knew many people prefer light text on a dark background.
Username rules are part of the Bethesda.net account system, not the forum software.
I'm not sure if animates gifs can be used as avatars.
You can't see who is reading a thread or forum.
There is a "like" option, although the reputation it's tied to is disabled so it doesn't do anything. You can't see who has liked a post.
There is an auto-censor. Whether it's liberal or conservative is a matter of opinion. When the Bethesda.net forums first launched the filter was an absolute terror, this one isn't.
Join date and post count are not displayed on posts, but are available on someone's profile. Join date reflects when you first access the forums, rather than when you created your Bethesda.net account. Custom titles aren't currently an option, although they've never been something available to normal members.
No smilies at launch. But it is default NodeBB functionality.
Edit: There's a large pool of smilies, I'm just blind.
No, we specifically do not allow images or other media in signatures. This has actually been the rules since the forums opened in 2000, barring a few hours when changing forum software a long while back.
NodeBB is very flexible, and very easy to develop for. Give us a few months and I think you'll be impressed with how far its come, even if it still has room for improvement.