Until Essentials came along I was firmly in the "...let's make D&D classless!" camp. I even created several frameworks within 4e could work as a classless system.
But the very lack of flexibility of the E-classes and their stronger resemblance to the classes of previous editions opened up my eyes, in a sense. I don't need to play a unique snowflake half-drow, half-shifter, druid pack outcast or a half-elf strength paladin who wields a halberd JUST BECAUSE I WANT 2!!!111! I'm happy with pigeonholing as it serves a purpose within a campaign to promote certain fantasy tropes.
In fact, I would even be happy with a D&D system that had very little in the way of customisation and instead replaced it with bajillions of classes. Hell, kill off half the races as well. If you want to play a paladin, just live with the fact that X-race make the best ones and that's why it's a racial stereotype in a fantasy campaign. The choice can came through which class you play rather than how different that particular paladin is to any other paladin.
