Final Fantasy games has always been strongly based on their stories and their characters, and on character progression. By your logic, the storyline quests shouldn't even exist, and the game should be a full sandbox in which people only create their own stories interacting with other live players, while never taking part in any kind of scripted-story-based content.
By my logic, the part of the game that is superior in interactive storytelling should not be included in the part of the game that is superior in event-based storytelling. Why do we have NPC romance when we can have romance with other actual people? Why must we have dialog choices and pre-made personalities when our interaction, choices and personalities are totally and utterly superior to the NPC interaction in every single way (except maybe grammar)?

This is not just *any other* FINAL FANTASY game. This is a FINAL FANTASY *MMORPG*.

Of course it's a limited choice, but it's as near as it gets to making a choice without making a completely branching storyline that would be extremely complex to implement, and still not perfect (you cannot give infinite options, no matter how many you give).
We have that already. Our own storyline that we shape ourselves. Are you even listening? Why should they try to make a completely inferior version of our story between the NPC's when something such beautiful and superior already exists and complements the pre-made story?

This obviously isn't that kind of game. A story is in place, and the player is given no other choice than to follow it. Let at least be a *good* and emotionally engaging story. As per Final Fantasy tradition.
I don't know about you, but my story in FFXI was *good* and emotionally engaging. So much so that very few games based on interaction between NPC's can come close to it. And the premade storyline that shaped the world in XI complemented my own. There was no need for trying to remake something that can not be remade without interaction with real people. XI gave me everything a good story can give someone, and this game will do no worse.