I, for one, am terrible at reading people, in general. This is because, I'd actually have to pay attention to them, which consumes quite a lot of energy. If I know I'm going to have to interact with someone new, I'll attempt to speed read them to determine their personality type. This way I know how to communicate (intuit or sensing), but that's about as far as I'll go. Over the years, I've found that SFP's are the best at observing and reading people. For me, I'd rather observe something like a 1964 Thunderbolt Fairlane, or a 1947 Knucklehead - that's much more interesting.
As for manipulating people; I tend to just lead by example, rather than actually steer people in a particular direction. I will occasionally force my way of doing something on those around me, if I see fit. Any other form of manipulation takes too much energy, though.
Regarding poking fun at people; I generally limit this to SP's and STJ's. The other types tend to offend easily, or take me wrong.
As for analytical thought; intuits are great a analyzing the big picture, while us sensors are best at analyzing the details. It just depends on what you need. As a person ages, however, they learn how to do both. My intuition started surfacing when I was in my 30's, and it was an eye-opening experience. For the first time, I was able to see more of the big picture and to better see into future. It's pretty cool, so don't knock it until you've tried it.
Troy