On behalf of the ForgeEssentials team, I'd just like to say that while our permissions system is in fact working, it would still be nice to have a SuperPerms-like interface so mods don't necessarily have to plug into our API in order to get permissions working. However, I have no idea where the Forge system currently is, or else I would look at possibly creating it myself and submitting a PR.
We do, however, have custom events that allow us to utilize protection stuff, and yes, we are close to our first official release. Hold onto your hats, people, this is the start of the wildest ride Forge has ever had!
Also, I'd like to point out that the sentiment on this thread is right. We should be focusing on creating mods that take the place of Bukkit plugins, not porting them over. First, Forge and FML have so much more potential than plugins are able to take advantage of, and second, yes, some of them are horribly coded. I fully expect, once the superperms system is in place, and we have a few more hooks in place, that FML will start to totally overtake Bukkit thanks to the help of FTB. The attitude of the current Bukkit team is inexcusable, and I fully believe Mojang made a huge mistake choosing Bukkit over Forge when bringing someone on to make the Mod API, and I'd like to prove it with things like ForgeEssentials, CityForgers, and other mods made to replace Bukkit plugins.