I like Timothy Dalton for the same reason I like Roger Moore, though not as much as Moore. IMHO, a spy shouldn’t be tall, handsome, cocky, and getting all the attention the moment he steps into a room like other actors portrayed Bond. Roger Moore would get cocky with his adversary usually after it was apparent that Bond was a spy and there was no longer a need for subterfuge. I do wish Dalton was able to pull off the cocky arrogance like others did. But it was easy to watch Dalton’s version of Bond just kind of go with the atmosphere of the room and hide in plain sight — like a spy — than it was easier to watch Brosnan or Connery (I know, the blasphemy :) ) draw all the attention to them all the time. IMHO, Daniel Craig is able to do both the hide in plain sight and the cocky arrogance when appropriate thing as well as Moore.
Dalton is my favorite after Sean Connery. He only had two movies to really explore the character but he had an intensity that I think moviegoers in 1987 weren’t ready for. It would take Craig to reboot the franchise at a time when moviegoers could tolerate a grittier and more violent Bond.