I agree. Joss made a lot of mistakes with Scoobies in the later seasons. I understand his need to develop them and really, slaying on a Hellmouth is enough to tarnish anyone, but there's got to be some hope, some light. Joss was very into the angst and it seems to be a tendendy for shows to become darker as they progress. I hate that, and it makes sense that we would try to reward the most deserving characters in our fanfic to make up for it. Spike and Xander were ignored and mistreated even though they were, in their own little ways, the real champions of the show.