yet another discussion about the current Runes

ok, so i think the biggest issue people have with the runes, is the insane amount of front loaded damage.. alot of people miss old runes and masteries, because you had damage and relative defensive options, and way more customization, noone ever felt locked into anything.. the current runes have ok customization, but there is always an optimal build and it's pretty linear.. we need a viable defensive option.. old runes and masteries had incredibly viable defensive runes, and viable defensive masteries.. now we basically just have a watered mastery system, with no runes, renamed "runes" it's very linear, very front loaded, and (IN MY OPINION) very boring..

what are your thoughts? how would you rather they handle the small amount of customization they give us? i'm really interested on this topic