Im a VFX student but i dont play many games these days, I always make an exception for the halo series though, its what got me into gaming back when halo CE came out.
Im sure I remember reading about Bungie looking at the responses from players on the halo forums to use as constructive criticism, so if 343 industries is also scanning for feed back then heres my 2 cents.
bring back cortana, yes the story line worked perfectly in that it does give the saga so much more dynamism. people are now fully aware that MC is human and has feelings, and it made for a real greek tradgedy at the ending. but MC and cortana are a pair, they came onto the scene as a duo and it just wouldnt be right with out the two of them together.
any attempt at pairing MC with anything other than cortana would be a big kick in the nuts to all old school halo players, youve done a great job of keeping all the old fans in the loop on this story line. it would be a shame to see things take a completely differnt turn and loose touch with the fans that adored the franchise so dearly.
youve shown youve got what it takes to create another saga (which i thought would be very difficult) so dont waste that potential.