I think many AG puzzles, in particular inventory puzzles are like cryptic crosswords; they rely not on your intelligence so much as your knowledge of convention and of the setter. Unfortunately, I agree, the majority of puzzles feel like so much filler and actually distract from the story. I think the way forward is to make the player deal with more realistic, integrated situations as in Fahrenheit. But one thing is clear; the player must be made to meaningfully interact and engage with the game or we essentially end up with a movie. Different kinds of puzzles are just different ways of doing this, and hopefully, if they are fair and well designed, enhance the story and give the player enjoyment solving them. "The Dark Eye" might be up your street; it can be downloaded from home of the underdogs as abandonware - unfortunately the company who made it is now bust. "Photopia" and the other IFs by Adam Cadre are superb, download Photopia now, it will change your view on games forever.
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