You are correct, actuators are a huge problem and there isn't as much being done to fix it. Right now one of the biggest problems is that we don't have efficien

You are correct, actuators are a huge problem and there isn't as much being done to fix it. Right now one of the biggest problems is that we don't have efficient torque dense electric actuators, that is actuators that can produce large torques and don't weigh much. So you end up with robots that are on a per weight basis weaker than we are. Actuators also don't control what we want them to control, we really need to be able to control actuator force/torque(or even better impedance/stiffness), but most actuators only control position. In fact, the entire reason the Baxter robot is able to work with humans(and not need an expensive cage) is that it has force controlled compliant actuators.