None of the previous dogs my wife or I have ever owned ever seemed to have an eating problem. Our Husky however goes crazy for food and will not self regulate.

The 3.5 month old puppy can beat the 10 year old full grown dog by 5 minutes plus with the same amount of food and a head start for the older dog.
You can see the stomach expanding and collapsing as the dog inhales his food as fast as possible. After he's done he spends a couple minutes licking the bowl to make sure he didn't miss anything.

Obviously, bloat is a concern. There hasn't been any vomiting, but he makes some odd noises (dog burbs would be the best description), and he's given himself the hiccups one more than one occasion.

I tried tennis balls and large rocks, but they didn't provide enough of an obstacle and the result was the same.

On a whim, I decided to give a slow feeder bowl a try. He was hesitant to try it at first, but he realized it was his only choice for food, so he gave it a try. It slowed him down for sure (finished way after the adult this time), and I think it forced him to think about the problem a little bit (watching him walk circles around the bowl while eating was entertaining), but I noticed a few things.
First off, he flicked kibble everywhere and made a bit of a mess.
The gaps in the feeder were very narrow and he had to lap up the kibble like water instead of bite into it.

I wouldn't mind picking up a few others and giving him variety in his feedings (different shapes/styles to make him think through the problem each day), but wanted some opinions.

Is slow feeding really better, or does it just replace one problem with another?
I've seen some people call them cruel as it forces a change to the dogs eating style.
Does anyone have any experience with them good or bad?

Kairo does the exact same thing, right down to licking the bowl for several seconds after. I have to find a way to slow her as she get's nosey wanting to know what Ember got and has only 1 time stolen some food from her.

Slowing them down is NOT cruel. It's not cruel to slow down a kid who is shoveling a meal down in overflowing spoonfuls. It's not cruel to only give a starving child small but multiple portions - in fact, doing the exact opposite IS cruel. (Not that your dog is starving, but the health risks are the same: choking, bloating, not being able to keep it down, digestion issues, etc).

You need to set your dog up for success. Keep with the slow feed bowl, even if it makes a mess. You're making the pup think which will also wear him out a little more overall during the day.

Another thing you can do to slow him down is use his kibble as treats instead of feeding a traditional meal. Hand feed him, toss him out pieces one or two at a time. Maybe even make him work for them (even more mental work - and bonding time to boot!). Find some brain game puzzles and put the kibble in that - even a hollow stuffed toy (like one of those peek-a-boo tents with the hide-away plushies) would make a great "bowl".

I also highly suggest a Kong Wobbler. This can hold his entire meal and only dispenses a few treats, and he has to physically bop it around to get them to fall out. Or even an old plastic water bottle with maybe a third of his food in it, filled up 3 times to make a full serving.

There are plenty of ways to slow them down, bond with them, make them work, and wear them out all at the same time!

I have a slow bowl and it has been great for my boy. He used to huff food down at lightning pace. He would choke and it would make him gassy. I haven't had any issues develop since I put him on a slow bowl. He has been on the bowl for two years now and I am actually getting ready to take him off it because he has now learned to eat properly without it.

Definitely keep up with the slow feed bowls! I've got the opposite issue with my two-they eat super slow and need encouragement and you have to sit with them and give them full attention.

I have heard that if you use the classic kongs, you can make a filling that freezes with the kibble, so that would serve as a full meal. That definitely forces them to eat slowly. There are lots of recipes for those recipes on Pinterest and YouTube.

Do you feed your dog one large meal or a couple smaller ones? Smaller meals might help with the bloat issue, but I'm not well versed in bloat...