@farmerman,
I loved Snape's character. In the entire series, Snape is the only character that has some depth to him, who is not a caricature of good or evil. Before the last book came out, Walden's Books was giving out stickers, one saying "Snape is loyal", the other "Snape will betray." I got one of each as my son and I were having a good debate on the issue. At the midnight book party, I wore one and spent the entire night discussing the issue since everyone who saw it had a deeply held opinion on him.