I know this is all personal and have no issues admitting that. To each their own.
But for me, weight never seemed to be an issue. Glass, cane, etc. Too heavy has never been an issue, provided you find a reel which will properly balance it. Not that I'm against light rods, or specifically look for heavy rods. Weight just simply isn't very high on the priority list for me. Light, heavy, they all can be good. Or bad.
I've never quite pinpointed exactly what it is I like or dislike about actions. Most of the ones I've liked are described as fast or medium fast actions and "progressive taper", whatever that means, as I think virtually all rods are technically progressively tapered! That's not to say I like ALL fast and medium fast actions, though, or that I couldn't find a slow action I do like.
I tend to overpower my casts. I don't do delicate. All of my casts start with the overpowered bit and if I need drag control it's all in the finish of the cast. Curve casts, pile casts, shocking it in mid air, etc. But, especially in small water situations, I do like to get that power with as little going on behind me as possible. Water hauls, roll casts, snap casts, even bow and arrow. With nymphs I wanna be able to flip. Even with dry flies in big water, I don't wanna have to reach way back and hook those trees behind me. The overpowering bit is on the forward power stroke, and I want it to be there, with lots of power, and as little loading as possible.
"Power" would be my description for what I look for in a rod and it doesn't seem to correlate perfectly with any "speed of action". I can't say I've ever really found that power in any glass rod, but, that's not to say that a maker couldn't do it. In boo, most tapers don't have it either. I think just because they choose not to, as most boo enthusiasts aren't looking for that. But I have come across some bamboo rods which do have power, and I own one of them, and use it a lot. A lot of graphite sticks have pretty good power, but even there, a lot don't too. Seems to be a trend that people want these super soft noodles, and thus makers want to make them. I'm not part of that trend.
"Feeling" the fight has never been a goal of mine either. If I'm catching small fish, I'm not doing it for the fight. If I'm catching big fish, I want some backbone, though I do see the usefulness of a little tippet protection on the tip end for catching big fish. Usually takes a backseat for me, unless it's a steelhead rod or something where truly big fish are going to be the norm.
In graphite, my workhorse is a G Loomis GL3 9' 5 wt 2 pc. I consider this to be a fairly powerful rod, for comparison.