Here's the thing with D&D, at least IMO: they tend to suck at the "little things" but deliver on the "big things." So, a lot of what people love about the books are the small details about characters, and that tends to get not as much love on the show, but look at the most memorable moments from the show:
-Ned's death
-Battle of Blackwater Bay
-Red Wedding
-Purple Wedding
-Tyrion's trial in King's Landing
-Hardhome (which is a complete and total show creation, too)
-Jon's betrayal
-[redacted for QoI] in the S6 finale
They tend to hit on the bigger beats of the books more than they miss, IMO. Which just makes the inconsistency that much more frustrating, sure, but again like you said- at least they're fucking finishing the goddamn story.