I loathe House because I think he gets off on being the asshole, whereas Sherlock I think isn't purposely being the asshole he is sometimes

Yes! Absolutely. I like this Sherlock, even though he falls into the "annoying genius" category. But he doesn't display the self-analysis, self-justification tendencies that House does.

British shows are usually better at not giving their characters ~deeper meaning~ through angst overkill. I like that Watson's trauma stems not from suffering from PTSD but rather from missing the war. Plus, casting lovable Martin Freeman as an urban gun-slinger was a clever move.