what we need really bad is the option to vote people off

I disagree.
It would lead to schoolyard type ostracism.
I think the moderators on this site are in a better position to work out who needs cautioning or banning. They listen to comments about posts that are flagged and take appropriate actions. They have many years of experience, some going way back to EP. I've never seen them take an action that was anything other than 100% fair.