They're next to useless because they aren't fleshed out enough to be interesting - from the literary standpoint they're two-dimensional or "flat". And their abundance is one of the things that drag down series like this; I don't need to even go into all the baggage that Martin or, worse, Jordan, put into his books.
HBO is trimming the fat in a very expeditious way. I do like that the giant got away just because he was fun to watch - I hope they have a boat capable of putting him on.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*