+1 for release branches, reverting version bumps feels really awkward +1 for more continuous integration. And just to make sure more people are aware of it, there is this buildbot running some CI http://108.170.217.131:8010/waterfall
A half baked idea for a more automated release process: Talking only about the tools releases for now as I don't have experience with releasing the other parts. The idea is to have it scripted in two stages with all the human input concentrated between the two stages. The first stage would automatically collect some info and write out a "release config file" with values that need to be decided upon by humans. The release manager then edits that file (maybe even gets it reviewed/approved by others). Then the second automated stage would use that config file to prepare artifacts ready for voting. Coho already does much of that, but with the current release process [1] human inputs are spread between many points along the way which prevents more automation. [1] https://github.com/apache/cordova-coho/blob/master/docs/tools-release-process.md
