I am a huge fan of choice. Which is why I liked so many of the changes in LotR, because they often went in that vein: Aragorn choosing to step up despite his doubts, Faramir being different from Boromir not by being not-tempted but by being tempted and choosing differently. Character is such a huge part of how I get into a story, anything that makes the characters more complex and realistic is generally a plus in my book.

(I do get what Tolkien was doing, stylistically; I've read a lot of the sagas that were his inspiration. But those stories don't wring my heart the way modern characterization can.)