I saw RotK in theaters when it came out. I didn't give the multiple endings much thought, but have relatives who still, twenty years later, can't get over it.

As for the Scouring of the Shire...personally glad it wasn't added. The movies played around with the timing of story and character arcs (Faramir, Shelob, etc.), and it made sense not to have a final battle of seemingly lower stakes after the ring is destroyed. The Scouring seemed somewhat out of place to me in the books, but I understand why Tolkien put it in as part of the coming home/character arc of the hobbits. Would love to hear anyone else's thoughts on the Scouring in general.

Of course, if Peter J treated the Scouring like The Hobbit, we could have gotten a whole movie just about it...