My biggest issue with the way this has been implemented is that it de-selects everything after each operation. So if you want to go two steps (from no TODO state to NOW, skipping LATER) you have to run it, select everything again, and then do it again. It would be better if the menu operation let you directly select which state you want with a pop-up, but at least it should not clear the selection between runs…
My other issue is that I personally cycle between NOW/LATER/TODO which is possible with the keyboard but not via this command. That could be fixed by implementing this feature request, or perhaps via a pop-up menu (as above).