@massivelyop as always, the question is: "does it benefit the game that such themes or content exist in it?".
In some case, the limit between usefulness and fan service is thin (see the infamous Dragon intro cinematic in #TSW), but usually, if it fits, it sits...

@massivelyop I'm tempted to say Sara Oakheart but I can't (IYKYK)... Same for Broin and all those greedy dwarves from the Moria Epic... And Viznak is annoying but fun.
Apart for these recurring annoyances, I don't recall any NPC memorable enough (in the wrong way) to be evicted from #LOTRO...
(For #TSW, have Kirsten Geary fired and let us work directly with the Voice)

@massivelyop I'd say 2012 (an #TSW and #GW2), because 2020 had me have much time in hands but not really bountiful MMOs...

@massivelyop I would have said #TSW, but it's only apocalyptic: we actively try to prevent the end of the world...

@massivelyop The same as almost every year in the last 19... (aka #LOTRO) #IMNotOldYouReOld
(for those who followed, I had a 2012-2013 season split between #GW2 and #TSW - I did my share in Riders of Rohan, but this was a dark era for the end-game and they acknowledge it by rushing RoR and HD on the legendary servers...)

@massivelyop IMO it's hard to balance a truly epic content with the critical mass needed for an MMO. That said, it doesn't mean that the quests should be dull, and you can make memorable content without falling into the Saviour Synrdome. #TSW did it with clever writing (and some mind-twisting investigation - even though some people complain, because somehow games should not require you to *search* for information), for example

@massivelyop Cool over goofy, obivously. A a friend said "if you have to spend hundreds of hours looking at the butt of someone, at least make it look good".
But I like mostly to keep them "normal" (or whatever normality fits with the world). In #TSW, my character ran in the world in jeans and tee-shirt, in #LOTRO my outfit is comprised of casual clothing from the SoA period