Yes, "indicators" as commonly perceived, are lacking terribly imho. But there are some, very simply, elegant methods that are wonderful in use as anticipators. Prediction just isn't possible.
ES are for people who likes to trade like they are playing video games with one of those TT Machine. Their average length of trade is 3 sec. I think other than people like that. It is very hard to make money intraday.
i used to have similar views about es. i thought high octane stuff was the way to go. now i feel i have matured as a trader and quite like it. no way is the es 'random' as the op thinks. if you know what you are looking at then its just all gravy.
Nothing random at all, other than the occasional nuke that goes off during market hours. And 'they' probably are short in front of it, so if you are REALLY good, you smelled it coming. P.S. But did you leave town?
I must have missed something here, but I think your whole approach is wrong. Unless you are a scalper, if you trade with the trend, it doesn't matter how many people are "against" you or how smart the other traders are. You go with the flow and you make money. So in this regard, it doesn't matter what index future you trade, you will make money. When I go long or short I don't trade against traders, I trade the market...
Look, if you can not or do not want to run with the BIG DOGS then stay on the porch. When the ES came into the field and was said to be a real bear to trade and would clean your clock, it was then i KNEW it was for me. To go through all the hoops to learn how to trade why would a person not want to join the BIG LEAGUES? Steel yourself, soldier on, NO GUTS NO GLORY...... Love the challenge of whipping the Harvard, Yale, MIT folks butt. I went to a good school, but not those so i enjoy taking some of their money....