Actually, if I recall the book correctly, the dwarfs weren't generally very heavily armed. Except for Thorin, Gandalf, and Bilbo, who picked up swords in the troll den, they didn't use anything but knives and bows for most of the trip.Zaune wrote: Been a while since I reread the book, but I'm pretty sure they all used swords originally; the dwaves = axes and/or hammers cliche evolved much later.
Thorin was a bit pompous, but he was still supposed to be a good guy in the book as well. Keeping the arrogant side would arguably make him a more interesting character anyway (certainly a more complex one).That would probably have to be downplayed a bit on film anyway, especially for a character we're supposed to like.