Its not too badly balanced. A bit front heavy, but not overly so. If you use the bolt on tri rail, and stick a bunch of stuff on it, it can get pretty noticeably nose heavy.
Reliability is pretty good, assuming you dont have issues with the barrel unscrewing like I did on my Wolf A1 upper. (Not a design issue/problem in Taiwan, as the barrels are profiled, extensions installed, finished, and chambered here in the US. . . )
I've heard of folks using them as FA blaster uppers on M16 lowers without too many problems. Seem to run well. As far as environmental concerns, reports on the rifle from the Jordanian Army testing indicate it does pretty well in the dust and sand. And it is in service in Jordan, Kuwait, and the UAE.
The piston assembly is pretty robust. And it is amazingly quick to take down, clean, and reassemble. Some pretty clever engineering there.