Why are items so powerful?
This question seems to come up a lot in threads, I've noticed. My theory is that items were powered-up so that an unskilled fighter would have at least some chance of beating a veteran. I think this is also the reason most of the combos and strategies from Melee are gone. As for why they bothered to do this at all...I guess to encourage more online play.
Anyway, my favorite item is the Smash Ball since I've wanted super moves in SSB since the first game.
My least favorite... jeez, there are a few. Food, any gun (though I thought the charged Super Scope was a neat idea), gooey bombs, and springs probably top my list.
My usual item list for Brawls is: Smash ball, Pokéball, assist trophy, heart container, crates, Hothead, and Dragoon.