I'm glad you got so much joy out of the game, AudioEpics. I wish you many more hours of entertainment, and I mean that sincerely.
Other than that, I disagree with you, but that is simply my personal opinion. There are things in-game that I truly didn't enjoy at all, and, unfortunately, for me it was large chunks of DA 2.
I do agree with you about the companions. They are well written, and the animations and facial expressions are top. Again, unfortunately, there was not enough interaction for Hawke to really get to know them, and get close to (or shy away from) them. I never really *felt* much around them, sadly for me. I also enjoyed Act II, that was fun to play.
I do not hate the game. I don't even dislike it. It's simply 'meh' (as in gloriously average) to me. To me personally, it is saved from me hating/disliking it because I can see the sparkly, delicious goodness of Bioware shining through every once in a while.
Personally, I have one complete play-through, and a second one I simply can't bring myself to finish. She is stuck at the beginning of Act III, poor thing. I've uninstalled, but I'll not delete the save-file. I have not yet given up completely on it, depending on the modders and Exp packs. (I don't buy DLC on principle from any company, that's why I have not included them above).
I am glad that people do enjoy it. There will be no way that I would "slam" anyone who does. I hope you enjoy many more play-throughs, and if you are stuck, or need help don't hesitate to ask for it. There are some wonderful people around here who also enjoyed the game, and I'm sure they'd be more than glad to lend a helping hand.