[MENTION=552]Creamsteak[/MENTION], I agree the slowness and clunkiness of combat can be death to a PbP game. It's very important to keep the game moving so that players stay invested. When I play at a tabletop, I expect to roll for init. When I play in a PbP, I understand that it's a different environment and that tabletop expectations go out the window. It wouldn't bother me if you switched initiative to US versus THEM. My job as a player is to get along with the others, enjoy my character, and support the DM however best I can; I therefore back you, regardless of which direction you elect to take for init.
Besides, if we try group init and don't like it, the fix is easy. We either revert back to what we were doing and everyone chalks it up to the vagaries of PbP, or we select a different method of doing init and move on. I'm certainly open to experimentation.