I'm only going to tackle the talking during fights bit. Less is more, absolutely. However, the complete silence during fights is most definitely not fitting to the party as many are saying.

You don't have to be so bubbly or cute during fights, but in XII, Basch is a military man. You're telling me he wouldn't try to direct anyone in a fight. Fran and Balthier are super tight and fight together. They don't have strategies or anything to discuss in battle? Irl, when in battle, you communicate your strategy and execute. So complete silence is just eery.

Story wise, it took me a second playthrough of running location to location to feel like the story and character was continuous. Game was so open, I did so much stuff I couldn't even remember what I was doing at the next location because I was doing so many side quests in between. (A problem I've found in a lot of modern games - looking at you Elder scrolls)

Still, I do love this game and it's characters. It continues to move left on my signature every year, so I must like it lol.