Michael,
I can understand your frustration, but my experience with WA has been different than the review you read.
It is also very possible it is DW that is causing your problem, or more likely, a conflict between different extensions or corrupted file.
I use DW 8.02 as well, and have occasional problems with freezing. I have a lot of extensions from different companies tho, and sometimes they dont play nice together.
It seem that sometimes something in the configuration folder (where all the extension files are stored) gets corrupted. Sometimes deleting the cache file will fix it, or fix it for a while, and sometimes I need to delete the whole configuration folder, and reinstall my extensions.
If you don't have too many extensions, this can be a good way to go.
Have you tried deleting your configuration folder, and re installing your extensions?
BTW, I am talking about a windows system, and the configuration folder located in C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Macromedia\Dreamweaver 8
Tom