So I finally beat Tales of Symphonia 2... *zomg spoilerz*

[Words Of Wisdom]

rendo said:

How you obtain the monsters fits in with the story, and they are very helpful, sometimes more helpful than the ToS characters.

I agree with the part about Lloyd and also am disappointed you don't get to use him until later on in the game.

Another Pro is that you can play as any of the ToS characters when they're in your party, though they have set movesets so if you were expecting to use the higher tiered artes, you might be SOL.

The story is a hit or miss thing, I found it crappy but to each their own.

As for the characters vs monsters, the characters were utterly useless.  The monsters were flatout better.  They did more damage at every step of the game.  When a character is dealing 300-500 damage and the monster is swinging for 3000-4000 damage, it really kind of breaks any sense of balance between the two.  I mean, the monsters do more damage with a regular attack than most characters can do with their best arte and a combo.