Yes, it was freeing, that's the word. I enjoyed HP6, though it suffered really badly from the romantic subplots (just like the book did). I can say that in HP7 I spent almost no time groaning, rolling my eyes, etc. Which probably had a lot to do with Ginny being in it only once, and that being quickly smoothed over by a funny moment.

But I think it was mostly the second half of DH that made me seriously consider throwing the book across the room at several points, so we'll see how the 8th movie turns out. I'd be amazed if it was actually worse than the experience of reading the book, so I guess I look forward to it?