i've never had a problem with AoOs. in fact, i can't imagine taking some of those nifty feats that later turn into cool chains of feats without there being a reason, i.e. AoOs. it never added two real-time seconds to any round of combat we ever played either. but your point is well taken. if there is ANY rule that takes your group too much time to deal with, drop it. the rules may help clear up some oddities at times, and i think they add to the realism of what is physically happening (can't wait to see if 3.5ver clears up the 3.0ver oddities), but when rp'ing gets lost, why play? i agree with poster, but don't give up! you never know when a cool group may appear out of thin air.