Yea, while I feel that RJ dumbed the AS down beyond what was reasonable after book 6, there is no doubt that breaking and unification of the White Tower was supposed to to be an extremely important plot-line from early on. Isn't it the longest-running continuous story-line in WoT, the one featuring the largest number of somewhat detailed characters, etc?

And, as has been mentioned, the White Tower had been targeted and sabotaged by the Shadow over the millenia like no other group of people, no other asociation of channelers. Heck, during the series itself nearly all of the Forsaken tried to do something to undermine it and/or to sick peoples under their control at it. That, apart from the 2(!) specifically dedicated to ruining it and Ishy.

We saw what happened in lands wholly outside of the White Tower influence, such as Seanchan and Shara and it was much worse. Even the Sea Folk and the Aiel were massively, if indirectly influenced by the White Tower in the terms of preventing the One Power abuse among their channelers so as not to attract the Aes Sedai attention!

Re: Egwene, I always liked her, even though she was never my favorite character. I am always perplexed that she is reproached for being a bad friend to the superboys when she :

was the only one of the younger set not to distance herself from Rand once his channeling became known

Hid him in Fal Dara

Ran away from the White Tower (where she very much wanted to be, despite the hardships) because she was told that the boys were in danger

Told Mat about the red ter'angreal doorway despite Moiraine forbidding it, because she wanted to help him and cheer him up

Fought for Rand in the battle of Cahirien despite Moiraine's and Wise One's disapproval

Intended to go with him to fight Rahvin

Tried to protect him from Lanfear

IIRC, gave Rand a good advice about Elaida's embassy, that would have spared him capture if he had listened. etc.

Her stated goal as Amyrlin was to protect Rand from Elaida and make an alliance beyween him and the WT possible

Yes, Egwene was also depicted as abrasive and nagging, but apart from legitimate character flaw, that was also due to RJ's quirks in writing female characters in general.

Also, the things that particularly infuriated a certain sub-set of fans - i.e. Egwene daring to criticize Rand's arrogance, disagreeing with him on some issues and comparing herself to him, have been revealed as somewhat legitimate and even necessary, given Rand's/LTT's very real flaws and Egwene's role as a required counter-balance to Rand, if not an equal.

So, I am kinda perplexed why the vitriol continues unabated?

Egwene also has a "kinslaying" moment, killing Sharans and her own people in her rage (and mirroring Rand in tPoD against the Seanchan), as does Eldrene, when she burns down the most beautiful city in the world (with people in it?) as she kills the enemies who took her husband.

No, the city of Manetheren was empty, she had evacuated everybody. Eldrene's action was also a last ditch rearguard action aimed at gaining time for her surviving subjects to escape as well as deny the city to the Shadow. And it was targeted specifically at the Dreadlords, IIRC, so that even those who were outside the radius of the actual blast were killed. So, there is a precedent for only Sharans being affected and massive numbers of them at once.

Of course, one thing I never understood about Eldrene's story was why such a powerful AS with such a powerful sa'angreal wasn't with the army in the first place. Her presence, clearly, may have made a difference.

One has to wonder, though, if Warders are really more a liability than they are worth, if their death can incapacitate their AS in battle like that. I remember that earlier in the series some AS managed to keep themselves together after losing a warder, at least until the immediate danger had passed. Love between Egwene and Gawyn never struck me as something out of this world, like Eldrene and Aemon's was supposed to be... and even Eldrene's sacrifice was calculated.

Also, this very much suggests that Rand's 3 women really shouldn't have been anywhere near a battlefield, as effects are much worse for a warder.

I agree about LTT's parallels... with the cave-out that Egwene doesn't die in despair and she does something constructive on the way out - shores up the Pattern that it is about to unravel. Which also creates a "thinness" through which the next Bore will be drilled, but at least there is still a Pattern for Rand to save.