I'm just profoundly uncomfortable with the idea of an authority figure--basically any figure that could be viewed as a parental one--with one of their charges...squicky. There are a few exceptions, but it's a general rule. On the other hand, I can support your Faith/Giles ship because while there's an age difference, he was never in her life the way he was with any of the Scoobies. It's not the same thing.

Exactly. I like Cordy/Xander, I like Anya and they have a few cute moments. But I don't find him interesting at all, and I don't care about his sexual/romantic life. I like him when he's being BFFs with Willow or Buffy (after he gets over the crushes), but other than that...Meh.

Oh, also, I don't hate the idea of Xander/Dawn, but I really think she deserves better. Which I realize is also not a popular opinion, but still.

I would be really interested in hearing sometime what kind of guy you think would be good for Dawn. I don't think we've ever talked about that. Not that she needs someone or anything, but just as a hypothetical sort of way.