I don't remember much from 8, it's been so long. I played 10 but hated it. My bud says 10-2 is way better.
I hear ya on the many good thing from 7. Everything that you listed is what helped to make the game great! Had a fantastic story line, too. You ever get Knights of the Round? That's when the Chocobo racing, and breeding, really came into play! One thing that always helped to make the game so memorable, was the music. Aeriths death was a total punch to the gut. I still don't care for it myself. If it were any other character, except for Tifa or Barrett, it probably wouldn't have stung so badly. The game plays on Cloud and Aerith having chemistry, so you can easily choose to stay close to her in the game, and actually develop a "bond" with the character. By the way, the actual anime version of Tifa, Aerith, and Yufi, are super hot!
The game also had some of the best characters. Both good and bad guys. Lots of humor, too. The Turks were always worthy of a good laugh! Red XIII (Nanoni?) is probably my favorite character that you pick up on your journey. Vincent Valentine being my second, Cid Highwind third, Yufi fourth, and Cait Sith bringing up the rear. I think that about covers everyone...
They made one hell of a bad guy in Sepheroth! The music plays a HUGE part in his presence, and does a great job conveying how sinister and evil he is. That's another thing, very little voices in the whole game. The subtitles can get a little annoying to read, but, it works so well to have the music play on the emotions of the characters, and the game isn't "cluttered" with dialog.
Open world gameplay really made it's first debut in 7, I feel... Wow, I really am a nerd! hahaha!