I don't find the ACG a problem at all personally. Importantly, I have found that the AGC response (audio response and recovery time) is not directly related to the S meter movement. The S meter fall time is too slow, it's a known issue, but the receiver AGC is great for me. Do you find the same?
FYI, on the front panel PCB there is an electrolytic "damping" capacitor connected across the S meter. You can remove this cap (or cut the track) to speed up the meter movement. However, will the meter eventually fail due to hitting its end-stops harder? I don't know, time will tell!
73