Yeah- the reviews are mostly hypocritical dumbasses; in Halo 2, they criticized the Arbiter sections (which I thought were amazing, and brilliant), and then in Halo 3, when they removed that part of the story, they started bitching.
On a some-what un-related note, what was your favorite Halo novel? Mine would probably have to be 'The Cole Protocol'. I don't really think of saying 'The Fall of Reach' because, that is a classic among fans, so it doesn't really need to be said.
Another Elite I found amazing was Zamamee- he was sooo awesome! I loved his little back and forth relationship with Yayap. My Xbox Live Gamertag is actually Zamamee 569 (the 569 isn't random- at least to me, it isn't).