OK, I am also in the minority here, but I enjoyed the NJO series, as well as the new Legacy of the Force series. I will agree that for awhile, it seemed like the books were all about trying to top the movies and previous books in terms of threats that went nowhere, and it was getting a little boring.
What I liked about the NJO series was that they did kill off characters (both movie and EU), had the New Republic fall, and practically destroyed Courscant. It was the first time that a book series made changes to the universe. I thought the ending was a little abrupt, but I really enjoyed most of the books.
What I found is that my enjoyment depends on the author. Tim Zahn is in my opinion the best SW author. Troy Denning is pretty good, as long as he does not write about Jedi. The man makes them waaaaay too powerful, as shown in the Joiner trilogy. I really like Michael Stackpole and Aaron Allston as well. The rest are either only OK or really lousy.
Anyway, that's my two cents.