Not as the dumb brutes that turned into comic relief during the G1 cartoon, or as the group that got owned by Shockwave in Maximum Dinobots.

The ideal Dinobots would be a mixture of the ones from War Within combined with how they were portrayed in peteynorth's "Transformers version 2.0". Yes I know the latter is not official, and I might get slag over it, but the fact is that story is so good it might as well be either a movie script and a comic storyline. It's mush better than what we've gotten in ages.
With the exception of Sludge, who is a bit dimwitted, all the Dinobots are smart including Grimlock, who unfortunately has a little "vocal impediment".

 

Honestly, I'm not too far away from total agreement.

I enjoyed Furmans take, I liked the original toons beligerant take, loved them as a kid, even enjoyed Maximum Dinobots, but truth be told, I've grown to dislike them more often then not anymore. The Dinobots are often poorly written, Mary Sued, or only enjoyable when they're the focus of the story rather then the Transformers.

Frankly I think any future portrayals should take the tone set by Animated. Make them brutal but beatable, a kind of close quarters combat version of the Wreckers. Heck, kill some of them off in stories, only to be replaced by another who reformats themselves into the same physical configuration to give them a status kind of like the Persian Immortals (Who their foes believed had risen from the dead rather then as someone new) which would also explain why the almost never talk.

While I love the toys, especially Animated Grimlock, at the same time, I wouldn't be put out if the Dinobots happened to go extinct for a few years in shows, comics, and toys.

 

I like my Dinobots undefiled by Michael Bay's whims of bodacity.

 

I'm not a fan of "dumb comedy dinos," but can understand those who dislike the more intelligent Dinobots because of the unbalancing, Mary Sue effect they can have on a story. Still, for me, the Dinobots work best when they're treated as an Autobot Special Forces group-the guys who's job it is to dive into the hardest fighting and take the hits and the dents that no one else could survive through a mix of brute force and skill.

Personally, I'd like to see the Dinobots re-interpreted as more of an actual Autobot subculture, with a strong warrior ethic that controls a great deal of how they act and react. Almost like Autobot Samurai, if you will. That way, being a Dinobot is less about having a T-Rex alt mode and smashing things, and more about subscribing to a whole way of living your life. I think it would make them more interesting as characters.

 

I'd like to see Dinobots that have seen and done such horrible things in the name of war that they've closed off parts of their minds so they don't have to deal with thinking about it, and that makes them seem a bit dumb and heartless. They've stopped the pain and guilt of the things they've done, but now they've lost part of themselves and ironically it's probably affected them even more than the other things. They thought ignorance would be bliss, but for them it's not.

 

What I like is the Dinobots created on Earth and not present in the history of Cybertron

 

This...

 

Powerful, with attitude, kicking ass.

 

In response to Gil. If you go into the Movies section on Iaconcity and click the group dinobots, the new ones are there.

Sad to say I didn't create the site. I'd be proud if I did, there's phenomenal stuff on it.

 

I absolutely hate smart elite dinos, they need to be somewhat slow to counter their physical strength. Furmon's elite hit squad with cybertronian history was lame.

 

I like mine dripping with awesomesauce.

 

Me Spin-Out like Dinobots to be renegade. Me Spin-Out like them to be powerful. No get me wrong, me Spin-Out still like Animated Dinobots, but them not what me want to see from Dinobots.

 

Like The Cartoon season 1 and 2. They still did the rebellious thing at times, but were simple-minded. I enjoyed "Maximum Dinobots", but I prefer them as simpletons, but not to the extent they were played in season 3

 

If it were my call, I'd probably lean the Dinobots somewhere between their Marvel and Animated incarnations - stubborn, scrappy, roughnecked towers of aggression itching for a fight who'd sooner smash first and ask questions later. They wouldn't talk much, but when they do they'd give the impression of being maybe a bit smarter than they appear to be...at least in moments where they're NOT telling Optimus Prime where he can stick his orders. As for Grimlock's speech - eh, I'd probably keep the 'glitch' thing, but as I said before, he'd probably prefer to let his actions speak for him. If they show any signs of something less than intelligent, it's usually from ignorance and general apathy toward the Autobots and this miserable mudball of a planet that they're stuck on than anything else.

Basically their attitudes would be summed up by that classic moment from "The Ultimate Doom, Part 2" -

Optimus: "Look at the monitors! You must help stop these disasters."
Grimlock: "Uh, me Grimlock not care whole planet fall apart. Make no difference to me Grimlock."
Wheeljack: "With you on it?"
Grimlock: "Eh, hadn't thought of that."

They look out for themselves, basically, and woe be to anyone who gets in their way.

 

I don't like the comedic version. I prefer them dangerous and borderline savage but not dumb.

 

I prefer them to *sound* dumber than they actually are (except in Sludge's case, because it makes him kinda sweet!   ), and to be individuals that put up a united front when necessary...or when they've been treated unfairly, like in their first few episodes. It makes them more interesting than 'rebellious brutes' or 'comedy relief'.

--Moony

 

I loved those episodes when the Dinobots were rebellious. In the old Marvel comics though. I thought Grimlock was an ass at first especially right after Prime's death. But by those later issues when he'd been confronting Prowl so much. I loved those issues and his character development.