Having watched all of the first three seasons online in about three weeks, watching like ten or so episodes a day on some weekends, the sudden transition to having to wait a week between episodes is HORRIBLE for me.
Favorite character is Sawyer, followed by Hurley, then Ben, and then Jin or Desmond. Mr. Eko was also my favorite for a while, but he's not around any more. Without the two of them (Sawyer and Hurley), the show really wouldn't be the same. I
hate Jack and don't like Kate, although the both of them have become a
lot more likable since the Hydra Station.
Talk of money seems petty compared to what is probably actually going on here...
I think that's intentional, especially when you remember Kate's reaction to the conversation. Miles really doesn't know that he's getting into something serious.
As for the Claire/funeral thing, I
really don't think that she's dead, at least not dead in that sense. She likely died on the island (or was left behind-- remember Jack and Hurley felt that they needed to go back, I think it's likely a that a large group of the survivors stayed/were left behind while the Oceanic Six returned to the "real world").
What do we think of the new characters? Miles is pretty cool, Charlotte annoys the hell out of me, and Dan Faraday is really fucking cool. I can't wait to find out more of his story.