I hear you. I caught The Two Towers on TNT the other day and was just baffled at how the major players made it through that battle unscathed especially the last moment where they simply ride out into a sea of orcs on horses and not one single orc thinks to take down their horse.
Though if you are going to astonishingly survive a 10,000:600 battle, that is the style to do it in so Peter Jackson gets his props.
I will say, I didnt know what to expect from the Hobbit since I never read the books but was pleasantly surprised. I thought it was good. I think it was easier to follow for casual fans too and there was more humor. My fiance turned to me about halfway through and said "this is good, I like it!" and I couldn't tie her to a chair and staple her eyes open to get her to watch the trilogy.