what bugs me is arriving at an airfield with a couple of aircraft well spaced in the circuit and the runway ahead and being told to fly into the overhead do a mass of turns to end up where I already was. I would rather go straight in adjusting my speed to accomodate the other traffic where you get the best vantage point to see them.
ATC: "Join overhead rw nn ..."
Me: "Request straight in"
ATC: "Straight in approved, no. 3 to the xxx late downwind"
Still not difficult. You don't necessarily have to take the first offer, you can always try negotiating.