Yea. The thing I loved about the books was this sense of awakening. Shit hits the fan, the world is falling into darkness, and all these people, forgotten, fallen in glory, old and weakened by time, they all stand up, shake off the cobwebs and ride out to death and glory. Theoden is one of the exemplars of that, lost in depression and despair, and he gets up and rides out like a king, and once he makes that decision, he never turns aside...There is always the sense that he's thinking about it, but every time he chooses the noble course.
Aragorn the same...How much of the second movie has him pulling this emo "I don't know if I'm worthy" crap? They play him like he's 25, but, chronologically, he's almost 100. He knows damn well what's expected of him, and while he kicks himself for bad decisions, he doesn't falter in his course.
I'd forgotten about the bit with Faramir...Blocked it out, because, you're right, they totally screwed him. Same with Eomer: changed from a noble hero who'll do the honorable thing even if it lands him in jail, to some spoiled princeling who absconds with the army and leaves his nation to be destroyed.