The SA of the character(s) in Liveship do end up being important to the story, but it's definitely not easy to read about. The characters in Liveship are all somewhat insufferable, too, but a lot of them grow through the series.

The whole realm of the farseer collection don't get.... Better. I loved them all, but they were kinda depressing all the way through. If you didn't like the first trilogy I don't think you will find any redemption in the rest of the books.