What attracts you to Late Rome?

[starman2012]

it seems there are far fewer likeable or respectable personalities in the middle and late periods!

A lot of the latter Roman emperors and generals deserve a lot of respect even if some weren't very successful. Gallienus, Aurelian, Probus, Diocletian, Stilicho, Aetius, Majorian etc did their best, often under nearly impossible circumstances.

I have to agree with what some of the guys said, the late army is much more interesting for me than that of the Principate. It's an army which is stretched, is being faced with more dangerous and complex enemies (for example the Sassanids, who are a big reason for me liking the late Roman period!) and struggling to meet these new threats. You see new technologies, new costume and tactics coming in (late Roman helmets are a lot more visually striking imo than Principate helmets).

Well I dunno. Helmets may have gotten better in terms of protection offered down to about mid third century. But are the Romano-Sassanian helmets and coifs more impressive than early Imperial helmets?

Also in terms of looking at institutions, ways of thinking, even the way history was written and viewed, you can see a long and gradual shift from classical to medieval,

Sure, one aspect of that was the increased emphasis on walls. Apparently the classical way of fighting--armies in the field--was less relied upon.

You have people whining about taxes and government bureaucrats and bad military leadership, more mundane things,

You see that in earlier periods of Roman history.