Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are my favorite romantic couple ever, period, the end -- for all the reasons you mentioned. And I agree with your post wholeheartedly, even though I'm the sort of person who tends to subordinate the romance to the adventure. EWFS is tightly plotted, which is one of the big reasons why I love it when most romantic fics/movies/whatever send me screaming in the opposite direction.

I was thinking about what you said about the way romantic comedies are done now, as opposed to how they were done earlier. What immediately sprang to mind was Bringing Up Baby, which is full of leopards improbable situations, but where the plot still ultimately turns on Susan and David being themselves.