True! And Valefor was awesome in general - who doesn't want a giant bird with a mane and armoured mask to save you when you fall backwards off a building?
YEP! And no, Adel was the worst because s/he hit hard and you had to be ridiculously careful to avoid hitting Rinoa. Square was just like "Y'know what would be awesome? AN UNFAIR BOSS FIGHT WHERE YOU CAN'T DO SHIT TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION!" So see you, Selphie...go blow up now.
And aww, see it takes time with Garnet. Her last three Eidolons are beasts, but you have to force her silly arse to learn them. My team was always Zidane, Eiko, Steiner, and Freya. Sometimes Steiner got swapped out for Quina, but mostly because Quina was hilarious.