Yes, this wipe, with cars not even being see-able (which is a good thing, though), lockpick just isn't that important unless you, hypothetically, locked your keys in your trunk. That's really the only use it has in player-interaction, besides jobs in Glow/broken ship.
Yes, a 4 (or more to prevent guessing) digit code sounds great, having to get a key every time you want to open something is quite irritating, and almost defeats the point. You could easily just type in the code as a pop-up comes where you simply type in the 4 digits, to be able to use the container, after clicking it.
I do like how they made it a useful skill in the Glow and the broken ship quests, but from what was said in other topics, you need 300% skill + Lockpicks to be able to crack the item lockers. Is any normal character going to have 300% Lockpick?
Here's some of my ideas:
1. The lockpick skill need to be changed so that builds can actually have a good chance to pick a lock and still have a good combat skill. It wouldn't change power-builds that will never settle for average, but for the average build, this could help prevent an alt.
2. Players should be able to die and re-spawn with keys for storage containers (car keys excluded, still should be a risk), so that a player can carry it around with them for convenience, and not just store it. Right now, for storage lockers, keys are either useless or very inconvenient; if you even have a situation that you use a lock for a container, having to have a safe place to put the key is, once again, irritating and time-consuming.
3. Keys should be labeled with more than just a key-number. It should say on the key whether it is for a vehicle or a locker.
4. Also, lockpickers should be able to put locks back on car trunks after they successfully lockpicked the trunk.
5. Ability to have a key copied should be easier and should be available in multiple places.