I quite agree about complaints being fairly petty. It was a monumental undertaking and I will be sorely diappointed if it doesn't walk away with most, if not all of the academy awards for which it was nominated.
I also agreee about Sauron. There is the ever-present sense that he is not bound to a particular form but is in essence a "shapeshifter" who can take whatever form is most expedient to his purpose in a given setting.
And doesn't that hold true with all forms of evil? They seem to be dressed in "innocence". As Sam said of Strider, "He would seem fair and be foul," rather than the other way around.