Another Zero fan here. I do have a little bit of trouble with brand-new cleats, but they loosen up nicely after a little while. I do "the wiggle" with new cleats, but can step straight down with broken-in ones. No hotspot troubles here- the combined platform of the pedal and cleat is as big as the Looks that I used to use.

I've also used Speedplay Xs, and liked them a lot. The only reason that I switched so that I could limit the inboard float. I think I still have the Xs and new cleats somewhere if you're interested...