They didn’t stick to the story so as to avoid some gals from frowning in displeasure at the lack of “strong female characters”, as far as I can tell. I think the movies were as good as could be expected, considering they cut Glorfindal and other parts. The worst is the added stuff, I think.
And yes, Tolkien could put together a sentence. I think Jack Vance has him beat, though.
Freegards
I agree. I understand cuts have to be made, unless the show's going to run 14 hours like the Russian version of "War and Peace," but taking out the author's content and adding someone else's in is just evil.