... I feel that the show is a watered down version of the books, with less depth and scale. That's pretty much inevitable, though, because at the end of the day, even with an HBO budget, it's still a tv show, and there's only so much they can do.
That said, I think sometimes they do a great job with what they have, and sometimes they could do better.
I like most of the actors, especially Tyrion and Jaime. They don't all quite capture what I feel about their characters from the books, but most of them do a pretty good job. It's fun watching them act out certain scenes from the books, but I have no idea how I would feel about any of them without having the books as a reference point.
I like most of their Big Moments. This is something where they sometimes do an even better job than the books at drawing out emotion. Particularly this season with Dany's two Big Moments (betraying the slavers and meeting the freed slaves at the end). Visuals and music allow for more immediate, powerful scenes than books can often give.
I don't like the story at the Wall nearly as much. If I hadn't read the books, I might be fine with it, but what I've seen on the show pales in comparison to how much I like that storyline in the books, and it's been like that from the very start. Jon isn't as cool as in the books, Sam is a better character in the books, the way the end of season two is handled is much better in the books. I find more menace from the Others in the books, where we don't get a proper look at one until it attacks Sam, and where they're not ice skeletons. I could go on, but so far the Wall storyline is where the show has let my expectations down the most.
For the other storylines, what the show has given us feels serviceable. Even though it lacks the full depth and breadth of the book version, it gets the job done, and every now and then they add something that works quite well. Arya serving Tywin Lannister at Harrenhal, for example; that's not in the books at all, but it works pretty well in the show.
But probably the biggest difference, for me, is something that is not the show's fault, but is a bit of a dealbreaker all the same as far as which version I prefer. In the books, Martin uses a strict point-of-view structure that lets the reader pick out bits of information about one storyline by hearing it filtered through the perspective of a different storyline. This makes for a rich reading experience that rewards a careful eye. Each chapter also has its own flavor depending on the perspective character it uses. A Tyrion chapter feels different from a Sansa chapter, even though they're both in King's Landing, and all the others feel different too.
In the show, everything is filmed by the same director, so everything feels the same. And the show offers much less in the way of those perspective-filtered clues. Neither of those things is the show's fault; it's just the nature of the medium, for the most part. But it's a big reason why I wouldn't want to watch the show first. Having started with the books, I want to finish with them, if at all possible.
All of this I agree with except having Arya serving Tywin was terrible (he would have recognized her) and the way they changed Dany in the house of the undying was also disgusting and did a diservice to her character. The wall story is done much better in the books and you get to see more characters and get to know them better. As crazy as the eyrie woman was in the show (and God I will NEVER get that scene out of my mind, and never stop wondering how it was for the child actor and how many takes they had to do) the books made her seem sooo much crazier.
