I'm re-reading the Moro arc and there's a lot of strange issues...

[nato25]

For him to move at such a glacial pace without explanation can only be attributed to the plotting.

Possibly - on the 'plotting' side, there does need to be a credible amount of time for Merus and Irico to get from Galactic Patrol HQ to New Namek - but then again, I don't recall there being a statement prior to Goku and Vegeta teleporting to Namek that would indicate the length of time, so unless it's there and I missed it, I guess that would just be a choice unconnected to anything much else.

But I'd also suggest that it's likely that Moro's initial movements, like much else, are meant to crib from those of his key character inspiration, Piccolo Daimao: they both get driven around in a vehicle (the airship/the spacecraft) owned and piloted by a pathetic villain stooge making another appearance from earlier in the series (Pilaf/Cranberry), proceeding at a fairly leisurely pace even though they have technology that lets them know pretty well where they ought to be going (Pilaf's Radar/Cranberry's Scouter) and power enough to capitalise on it if they really wanted to - I think Piccolo Daimao acquires only about one Dragon Ball a day, too (2 in 2 days before Roshi contrives to hand him the other 5). Though I'm not suggesting the specific rate of acquisition is meant to line up between Piccolo/Moro, I think in a general sense the approach Moro takes is meant to evoke the approach Piccolo Daimao takes (immediately before his Dragon Ball hunt really gets going, he also does the very Piccolo Daimao-like thing of leaving the main hero for dead after inflicting a crushing defeat, and he demonstrates his Piccolo-eqsue-ness lots more times after this).

It makes Moro's progress a bit more leisurely than perhaps it strictly should be, but since he's totally self-assured that no-one can really stop him from attaining his goals (again, like Piccolo), I don't find it too jarring that he isn't exactly speed-running it, and it gives us as readers a little extra about him in turn, not least because it lets us see his approach to shaking down the fourth village for their ball and laboriously torturing them all one after the other in an (unsuccessful) attempt to overcome their collective stubbornness and get them to reveal its location. Presumably he did something similar for the other three (who were no doubt all similarly stubborn).

Nice comparison. I think my main issue is the timing of it. It's all a little too convenient for the plot. As one of my main gripes was the seeming contridictory nature of keeping Goku and Vegeta sleep for 3 days then having Moro get super productive (by acquiring Dragon Radar sense) as soon as they wake up. I hadn't considered that Toyotaro might have been setting up for the appearance of the Galactic Patrol. The explanations that you and others have given does make me see this scenario as more credible ... well, I see it as less egregious than I did previously.

And unfortunately that is what we have to do with a lot of media, particularly Dragonball. Maybe making a story without plot holes is harder than given credit for, but man would I love a revised version of this entire story with small things fixed (inconsistencies in dates, dragon wishes etc.)