I'm okay with changes to Tolkien's lore when necessary. Although, as a fan of Tolkien's writing, I'll say that I'd only advise doing that if you have a really strong idea for something different. I don't think these writers had strong ideas... in nearly anything.
This show's downfall is its absolutely soulless writing. The characters are bland, the dialogue is awful, and the story is uninteresting. It's clear that they spent a lot of money hiring talented CGI artists to come in and give the show beautiful CG artwork. It's just a shame that the actual direction of each episode is as bland and uninteresting as the writing. I think this show was one of the biggest wastes of talent ever aired on TV. All these fabulously talented Visual Effects artists wasting their efforts on a show that has absolutely no heart and no honest feelings in its script.
Tolkien's stories thrived on a delicate balance between the deep sense of history and the grand personal adventures of his characters. His characters fit perfectly into a mosaic of story arcs that range through a long and beautiful history. His work is absolutely phenomenal to those who can appreciate it, but this new show really feels like it was made by people with no understanding or appreciation of what made Tolkien's stories so amazing. Instead, the show feels like a gigantic corporation wanted to make a popular TV show (like Game if Thrones) so they decided to purchase whatever Tolkien IP they could in order to pump out a product with "Lord of the Rings" stamped on it. All so they could make money off the value of Tolkien's legacy while paying no respect to him... oh wait that's exactly what happened!
Don't be fooled by the showrunners acting like this show has a positive moral agenda. I swear, that's a cynical manipulation tactic to try and get audiences to overlook the fact that this show is an utterly shameless cash grab that Tolkien would, no doubt, absolutely despise.
Try and imagine these writer's creating their own fantasy story... NOBODY would watch it. They're getting eyes on this story because they're coat riding Tolkien while also acting as though they're somehow "fixing" his work. I genuinely hate it.
People are free to disagree and enjoy it as much as they like. I know a few people who really like the show and that's awesome for them. I have noticed that these people tend to be easily pleased and enjoy it mostly for its loose connection to the world of Middle Earth (details like Balrogs, Orcs, Elves, Locations, and characters ect.)
But I genuinely don't understand it. I like big fun fantasy stories and I love Tolkien. I'm exactly the kind of person this show SHOULD appeal to and yet I genuinely think it's terrible. It's a shame, I wanted to like it.