Getting phonecalls about gigs/jobs a fixer wants their merc to do makes perfect sense, and with a computer in our head having marks on the map makes sense as well. Heck we have that now with Google maps
Where they messed up is giving us police markers. Not knowing about an assault in progress until we stumble upon it would have made more sense and also would be an encouragement to not fast travel as often and explore. Plus we wouldn't see the same assault in progress for a month. How long does it take a gang to rob a noodle vendor.
The other thing they could have done in the spirit of the OP.
All those special surprises could have had little unmarked Mini-missions. From the data shards they could give clues to unmarked locations to get more of the story. Example ( if you found the dead dude selling real chickens they could have gave a clue to his address. If we found it we could see an apt full of chickens or empty packages of artificial meat he was molding to chicken shape.
Where they messed up is giving us police markers. Not knowing about an assault in progress until we stumble upon it would have made more sense and also would be an encouragement to not fast travel as often and explore. Plus we wouldn't see the same assault in progress for a month. How long does it take a gang to rob a noodle vendor.
The other thing they could have done in the spirit of the OP.
All those special surprises could have had little unmarked Mini-missions. From the data shards they could give clues to unmarked locations to get more of the story. Example ( if you found the dead dude selling real chickens they could have gave a clue to his address. If we found it we could see an apt full of chickens or empty packages of artificial meat he was molding to chicken shape.