Personally, I have no problem with the avatars, but I did turn off the signatures. They don't normally bother me, but since we switched to this new forum look, they seem larger and more "in your face" than they did before.
i find avatars provide a nice visual aid. they're like landmarks that help you find your way through the thread. turning them off would make the site harder to use IMO. signatures only bother me when you can't quickly distinguish between them and the post content.
Right you are Prometheus. When I am looking for a post by you on the previous page in a thread when scrolling, it's easy to find you when I see that avatar. It helps for sure.