I also saw the movies first, Macalaure, so let's try and answer some questions!
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How significant or important are the movies for you today?
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The movies were very important for me, because without the movies I would never have bothered to read Lord of the Rings (nor gone on to read The Hobbit, the Silmarillon and other stories). So, for me personally, incredibly signifiant.
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In how far has your reading been influenced by it?
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Not much.
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Did you have difficulties making your own picture of Middle-earth because of having Jackson's picture in the back of your head?
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Yes; most things in the movies I transfer when reading the book. However, I must admit that is doesn't bother me. The scenery was amazing, and the characters were, for the most I believe, superbly casted. But I still have my own imagination on how Dol Guldur looks, or Erkenbrand or whatever etc etc
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How do you like the movies now?
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I still love them. They're an interpretation, and while I myself get frustrated at some parts I take them as they are and think they're superb. One must accept that when making a movie from the book it simply isn't going to be the same and should be took at a cinematic level, not a literary one. And cinematically they triology are some of the best movies ever made.
However, I really would have liked to see more Elves and certainly more Dwarves (maybe someone could have had a monologue talking about Lothlorien being burned and Dale and Erebor being attacked). Because, not knowing the plot when I saw the movies, I just kept thinking "where are the Elves and Dwarves to help?", and loved when the Elves came to Helm's Deep. Although, I'm not too sure about that after reading the books!
Personally, I'm happy that I saw the movies first, though, because if I had read the books first then I wouldn't have enjoy the triology which I love to much.
I like to think that even what Tolkien wrote is actually an interpretation of the history of Middle-earth. I don't believe that anyone (apart from JRR himself) should consider themselves guardians of the literature.
The best thing about the movies, though, is that they have introducted LOTR to a whole new, wider audience, and that's certainly a good thing.