We've talked about this a little before, but I still find it fascinating, how the whole experience is different for different people, and thank god, because what's the point of art if we all take the same thing from it:)

I think the movies are brilliant because while I love the books and the make me weep and smile and feel caught in the epic sensibilities and the world Tolkien created. But I find his dialogue stilted, the books exposition heavy, and find that there is entirely too much running around the countryside in the trilogy:) I see all of your points, but I think what I like about the movies is that they are movies. That it's a visual rather than a literary tale, the changes serve the visual aspect, serve that form of storytelling better than a stricter adherence to the books would have.

But obviously to each his own, and the process of analyzing these for your thesis must have been fantastic:)