Totally agree, I've been a vehicle geared player since the original and out of all the vehicles, the warthog is still my favorite. TBH I was kind of disappointed with the gunner damage in Halo 4 - it seemed weakened from the earlier games. But irrelevant - the wheelman should definitely give additional points, driving is definitely as difficult or more so in certain situations as the gunner. We got banshees, tanks, EMPs, rockets, and everything else to dodge a few extra points wouldn't kill.
I like the distraction addition, or perhaps additional medals. Though an extra 5 points a kill would help in the scheme of things.