I definitely get you guys when you say they dragged out Ted and Robin's romantic arc to the point where it was almost sickening and unnecessary (though, Barney and Robin's weren't written that well at times either, yet it was more compelling nonetheless due to their far more entertaining dynamic and I believe the poor writing choices were more rare in its irate-inducing quality). Ted hid his feelings for her up until questionable points to where he would go so far as to confess to her at inopportune times. It's understandable, but frustrating, but still very understandable.

They also had a lot of touching scenes that made their moments very easy to sit through.

But...I also don't think Robin truly felt pressured by him in his inconsistent, long drawn pursuit of her. In the beginning and the end, she truly loved him and she recognized how much better Ted was to her as a friend and a significant other than Barney was (but to be fair, Barney was trying for her nonetheless and almost succeeded in giving Robin everything she'd ever need) but was incredibly conflicted in how exactly to deal with those feelings primarily because of internal factors at play. They weren't compatible on very, very important fundaments that were simultaneously easily resolved with better timing.

Ted: though was a little annoying at times, I've never hated, as he on most occasions kept my interest - just not as much as the rest of the cast, particulary Marshall. His plotlines were endearing enough, but Marshall just takes the cake for me. Either way, he was far from being my least favourite character. I honestly felt they did him a disservice by having him stay so hung up on Robin at certain points even if I liked them together ROMANTICALLY sometimes and found in some aspects they were a better choice on Robin's behalf, though not as much on Ted's narratively and character-wise. Other times however, Barney definitely was better for her, I agree.

Ted deserved better than Robin, even if he put himself in a lot of the situations he found himself in.

Robin deserved a better resolution with Barney yet I adored Barney's character conclusion all the same.

I agree with the writers in that the main reason why they didn't work initially was because their life goals were much too different, which is why I'm absolutely fine with their getting together at the end when they felt more fulfilled and their characters changed and grew to become more aligned by the end.

And no, I don't think the rest of the characters' development suffered too greatly to culminate into the ending we subsequently got.

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