'Adventure games' puzzles are a very special thing, and they obviously require a certain way of thinking. Some people enjoy them, others don't --- and I doubt than can be helped (and the same could be said of, say, action sequences, etc.).
If you don't enjoy the puzzles, then you should just give up adventure games for a while. Because, once you've removed the puzzles, you're left with exploration (of places, worlds, stories, characters' personalities, etc.), which may not be your cup of tea if you don't like Myst, and stories which, at the end of the day, are nothing compared to what you'd find in so many good movies or books.
I completely understand what you mean by 'the promise of adventure games'; but we're not there yet. Far from it. Maybe one day someone will do something where the interactivity will not be used for puzzles at all (though I hope the puzzles will stay, in, maybe, another branch of adventure games, because I enjoy them). But it's not there yet --- except, maybe, in Fahrenheit.
We have only one life, and no idea how soon it will end: don't waste it on something you don't enjoy. Forget about the 'classics', and look at what the future may be bringing; maybe something better suited to you will emerge there.
