Bfisk, completely got your back on this. It is not a power struggle about who's gonna fly the a/c, it's pilot's job and I'm glad he/she can do it. However, it's my personal responsibility to keep 'em puppies apart and get 'em out of my space safely and expeditiously. Pilots who irresponsibly just crank left/right with no notice should really come to our TRACON and see what it looks like on the radar- we're covered in planes, and it's not same person who talks to all of them which is the trickiest part- when my arrivals deviate towards the departures the guy across the room is working, there's no time for coordination... Having said that, you bet your @$$ I'll do my best to get you around CB- generally, after two a/c asked for deviation around the same place, I'd drag the traffic management unit and my sup to work up the alternative route