[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

I think that if Aragorn did not have a banner, they would have still known not to fight each other. They would have thought of some way of identifying themselves, so the result of the battle would probably have been the same.

I'm not so sure: there's a reason why people carried banners and it wasn't for the sake of style. Aragorn was sailing up in ships captured from the enemy; his men were heavily armed, so their faces would have been hidden; the Corsairs didn't look that different from Rangers, and the defenders' tactics would have to be formulated before the new force drew close enough to be recognised in any case. I think that there would have been confusion and uncertainty for long enough to cause serious problems.

Now, Aragorn might have been able to knock up some sort of makeshift standard (wasting valuable time doing so, of course); but that would have looked like a rather feeble ruse de guerre and might have been ignored.

i agree with squatter about the whole logic thing but i just like eowyn better because she had the whole warrior chic thing going on and arwen just sat there and looked pretty.

I don't see what's so chic about war.
A lot of people prefer Éowyn because she gets stuck in; but fighting isn't the only proof of worth, and her physical courage is balanced by insecurity and fear of responsibility: in my opinion, Arwen would make the better leader, because she can make a considered decision and stick to it. I've discussed my ideas about these two characters in a lot more depth on the Are Tolkien's Books Sexist? thread.

In a way, I do like the portrayal of Arwen in the movie. Having her be a more active player patterns her more strongly after Luthien Tinuviel, who saved Beren in Angband and helped him to take back a Silmarill.

But if all women in Middle-earth were like Lúthien, Tolkien could be accused of using unimaginative and unrealistic stock characters, which is what the film version of Arwen was, let's face it. They might as well have had Barliman Butterbur played as a grizzled ex-soldier by Bruce Willis.

Personally I think that both of the characters have something to recommend them: Éowyn's your girl if there are Orcs to be killed; Arwen's more the person you'd go to for help with a difficult decision. As I said, I've gone into more depth elsewhere.