I didn't give the PS2 a second glance until it was under 200, my PS1 works just fine. The only reason I did finally get a PS2 was because it could play all my PS1 games and made for a functional dvd player.
As for the Gamecube... I'm a Resident Evil (survival horror in general) fan... so I had to get one because of the rather stupid Nintendo/Capcom exclusiveness deal. Without that I probably wouldn't have gotten one.
As for XBox... I see no reason to ever own one. Most of the games that are on it are also on PC, and it doesn't really have much in the way of title selection.
Umm.... yes and no.
Yes, I dislike it when someone takes an established storyline and screws it up without regards to previously created stories, themes and concepts.
Nope, I really have no really clue about most of what you said.