I'm going to go through and delete what I don't agree with to keep to the spirit of the original post.
fans and critical readers:
Jordan (Creative and rambunctious writer who has a thing for "Conan" and crafting solid imagery):
one can re-read any book of his (well, except the "Conan" books or "WoT Books 1, 7, 8 and 9"
there is logistics
does not forget about even tiny characters, no matter how trivial
knows his cast
characters are themselves, even if they seem like reflections of each other
readers age: Started at 13 or 14 - most are in their late 20s-40s at this point
Sanderson (like reading a book lit by a candle on another table - he is talented but everyone knew that finishing another author's series would be difficult):
one-dimensional characters
small and very boring battles
main characters: written in water
only scratching the surface
characters acting out of character
"Hey buddy, should I read Wheel of Time?"
Answer 2: Max the first books (1-4, 1-5, 1-6, 2-4, 2-5, 2-6), then go to Wikipedia and read the summaries. I'm glad I started with Book 4 because Book 1 was boring.
"In 10-15 years, nobody will remember WoT."
Probably not, just because of the nature of this genre. I barely remember "A Song of Ice and Fire" and I was reading that seriously years ago.