I never minded the line bases, but then I discovered GW during Epic 40K, so that's what I'm used to seeing.
Maybe I'm being a bit naive about warfare, but I saw them less as parade ground ranks and more like squads spreading out to cover more ground. It's helped by the fact that the strip bases give them a bit more 'zone of control' in Epic: Armageddon.
In any case it seemed a bit less daft to me than standing in a tight little scrum in a perfect X every time.
To that end, if I ever get me SMs painted up and plastic skinnerz from Troublemaker arrive, I'm putting the former on strip bases and the latter on round bases. Fits my own personal aesthetics of 'disciplined' troops vs. reckless mobs.