randog,
I've read all the books and seen all the movies. I don't thing I would have been impressed with the movies at all if I hadn't read the books first. The books are so much richer. When you read the books, you have a much greater understanding of the motivation of the characters. The books also cover a lot of information that the movies leave out. Really, the thing I enjoyed most about the movies was the special effects; I thought the story-telling was quite thin.
So, if you're interested in an entertaining read, go for the books. #5 was a little tedious, but if you read 1-4, then go ahead and read 5. 6 is better.
I, too, like another poster, am interested in seeing where all this leads in the final book. It has the potential to change my opinion of the entire series.
Which happenned to me with Star Wars. The level of suck was so dense in the prequels that they actually opened a hole in time and made it impossible for me to enjoy the original Trilogy .
And don;t get me started on Matrix 2 and 3.