I would have cut the mountain chase/factory sequence. Really doesn't make Smaug look like an effectual villain and muddles his perfectly good reasons for attacking Lake-town.
No, what am I saying? It would be like cutting out the Warbats!
By which I mean: these are weird films, and changing a single aspect won't fix that. I think they might as well be as over-the-top as they can be.
Re: Azog. Indeed, why not have his son in that role? What does Azog "have" over Bolg? Well, he "died" (or, originally, just died, without the quotes), and I guess it's the rule now that everyone has to think the bad guys are dead, so they can be shocked on learning otherwise. Drama, you know.
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"Even Nerwen wasn't evil in the beginning." –Elmo.
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