I'm not a big fan of random battles either, particularly tedious ones in games where battle isn't particularly exciting.

The Pokemon handheld RPGs strike a good balance though. If you don't want to fight random battles, don't walk in the grass. 'Course there are some areas where you have to walk through grass or a cave, or a particular trainer that blocks your way and you have to fight them, but in general you can walk for long stretches without worrying about a random battle.