Automator services run with 0.5 second delay
Well, I decided to give FastScripts a shot, since I've heard positive things about it in the past. Guess what? Scripts run instantly now. It's a wonderful app all-around. If you're even slightly bothered by the delays I'd highly recommend it. Keyboard Maestro is probably great as well but FastScripts seemed more like the light-weight app that I was looking for.