And if there's one thing I think we all find equally insufferable, it's rank hypocrisy. Especially on the part of the author. Paolini obviously has the same mindset; he LOVES writing fight scenes and gruesome violence, but won't let his precious heroes (or the narrative) cop to it. So his protagonists act like whiny little hypocrites who obviously adore fighting and killing but pretend to feel bad about it. And then go and do it some more.