Ahh yea, warp mode, I thought you meant transform mode. I don't know of any other app that has those specific warping handles. The convert to mesh and manipulate is probably the only good option inside of 3dsmax. That would be pretty cool! If you find good work around, definitely post it! But I think you already came up…
I think I understand what you're after... Try the Freeform mode in the UV editor window, its up at the top by move, between scale and mirror. It will Allow you to scale it by grabbing the corner box and rotate it by grabbing a box on the edge, you can adjust the pivot point by selecting the + in the center and moving it…