Though I understand your reticence to improve it, I hardly think trapping people in a mode you want them to avoid makes sense as a feature. It has legitimate uses, which is why it was added and why I use it.
I don’t really mind being forced to logout to quit impersonating though. The problem is that I can’t figure out how to logout without clearing their notification count (because I have to click on their profile menu to get to the logout menu item.) This is confusing and unhelpful for the user being helped via impersonation.
Is there a url I can visit to logout directly? Or is there some other way to avoid this problem?