True dat.
Brand + Merry + Rohan warhorses = KILLING SPREE!!!
Or a Merry-go-round...get it? GET IT? ....man I suck at jokes...

That fact doesn't make him suck.
It just means he's designed for multi player.
And these days I hear a lot of players saying they play 2 handed solo.
They should give Brand a try.
Brand + Rohan warhorse = ready heroes

Yea ok, end discussion right here. You could have rolled over like a good cow and said: "ok mr. camel, I'm on my back, Spippin sux"You actually brought the fatty vs Spippin thing up in the first place, where Spippin clearly sux more.
Yet instead you choose to wriggle into some non-sense Fatty bashing. Do you hate fatties? Do you? DO YOU?
What does another sphere's cards have to do with this? Nothing. That's what.
I could start to compare Spippin to any other random card here and now too. But I won't, as it breaks the debate.
(And also because most random cards are better then Spippin.)
Disclaimer: I am not a fatty mind you

I REFUSE TO FALL HERE!

I don't think I'd ever flat out "refuse" to play with a given hero, depending on the game and quest. 
 
But for me, if there's a hero I "avoid" playing, it's Elrond, mostly because like wyrm187 said, Elrond + Vilya feels like an easy out. That, plus his ability to pay for allies of every sphere significantly lowers the degree of difficulty. 
 
I think I'm almost to that point with Spirit Glorfindel as well. It's almost more fun to try and build solo decks WITHOUT him than with him. I already know I can build a killer deck using Spirfindel, Spirit Frodo, and Loragorn. It's more fun to try other stuff out.
 
This is also mitigated by the fact that one of the guys I play with regularly refuses to play anything BUT his favorite deck---Spirfindel, Elrond, and Legolas. So I'd constantly have to be reconfiguring my decks between solo and multiplay anyway if I was using Elrond and Spirfindel. 
 
My next challenge is to build a thematic "princes" deck around Faramir, Eomer, and Imrahil. I've also wanted to do a "Heroes of Ithilien" deck using Eowyn, Faramir, and Beregond. Actually, that Eowyn/Faramir/Beregond combo could be pretty awesome, come to think of it . . . .

I wish I played this game more often. Rephrase: I wish I could find the TIME to play this game more often.