A word I haven't seen in a while (then again, I haven't read the whole thread) is squick.

English Haurchefant was 0% squicky to me (though I never saw the event that Fawkes mentions, which would have spoiled that), and I chalk that up to the localization team. In English, he can be read as anything from the WoL's #1 fanboy to someone who's attracted to the WoL but too professional to act on it until the events in Ishgard are settled. Of course, he doesn't get that chance.

I'm well aware that the Japanese version was an absolute horndog constantly drooling over the WoL, and from what I've heard it was intended to be comedy. Depending on how well that version was written in English, I might have found it quite funny.

But I'm not everyone.

Setting aside any male players with male characters who would have been put off by a male NPC coming onto them that rabidly, a lot of female players would have been thoroughly squicked. Not a good business move, at the very least.

My WoL has the portrait of Haurchefant with an incense burner under it. A shrine to a kind friend taken too soon, who looking back probably had a crush. There wouldn't be a shrine if Haurchefant had been throwing out constant sexual harassment.

I feel the move to tone him down for English was absolutely the right call, but just like OP, my opinion doesn't matter. What's done is done, and it's not going to change.