Nerf Creepers (slightly)

I understand the purpose of creepers. I understand their unique mechanics, and the challenge they add to the game. I don't understand how anyone can regard it a fun challenge to be blown up by an entity that cant be detected, both day and night, and that destroys most items in its vicinity in the process. This is not a challenge to play around, as it can't be played around. This is broken.
It has no counterplay by design. If you don't see it coming, you will objectively not be able detect the source and then leave its explosion radius fast enough to stop it. You cant hear it coming, though, either.
But to be guaranteed to be blown up irregularly without being able to do anything about it poses no challenge. However if you see them coming, defeating them is no challenge either, as they're slow and not particularily tanky. That's not what they're built for, after all.
They're supposed to be annoying, and i'm fine with that. I just want any way of reacting. Give them walking sounds that can only be heard when they're really close or during daytime. Give them 0.5 seconds more windup time to explode. Give them only two blocks of range. Get creative and give them anything that makes their interaction more interesting than either "oh free gunpowder", or "Guess it is a challenge to be blown up in your storage room during noon and have days of grind lost to a 'unique mechanic', because there was a creeper around the corner that you couldn't have possibly expected to be there."