Obviously, all of this is opinion, but I see storytelling as the most important aspect of writing (definitely fictional). I define "fluff" as unneeded content, unnecessary words that get in the way of the story or do not contribute to it. So, while I do truly appreciate and respect Dostoyevsky's uniquely powerful portrayal of Raskolnikov's internal struggle, I find that 1/4 or 1/3 of the novel is fluff and unnecessary when you look at the main storyline (and yes, the king of fluff is RJ and in my mind, Tom Claney, my goodness, you can skim 3/4 of one of his novels and not miss anything).

This is the difference between a great attribute of a novel and a great novel itself. Huck Finn, Great Gatsby come it mind as the total package. But thinking about the power of storytelling, I will cite Uncle Tom's Cabin. The take away meaning/message was no different than hundreds (likely thousands) of abolitionist journals, pamphlets, and non-fiction accounts of the horrors of slavery, but this novel broke through to the national consciousness because of the storytelling.

So, to me, storytelling is the key. And I don't want anything in the prose to get in the way of the story. Regarding the aspects of writing, style, grammar, syntax, construction of sentences, I really don't care. The best prose is when it is unnoticeable and allows the story to rise or fall all by itself!