For those who wish to contact me on Xbox LIVE, my main account is "The 7th Taco", and the one linked with my profile here is only a backup.
Reach is like every Halo. It evolved. However, people draw the line in certain places where they think evolving is becoming too different from it's origin.
All Halo's are evolutionary, not revolutionary. That's why some people say Halo CE was the best, or Halo 2, or 3, or Reach, and some people are still loving the additions and enjoy Halo 4 as well.
Armor Lock is not the only reason why some people dislike Reach. It has flaws, but every Halo did, as does every single game released. You just can't please everyone.