I will say that I hate having to meta-game choices. That was my biggest issue with Catherine. The choices were obviously red or blue, and you had to play in a way to manipulate the game, or let it manipulate you or whatever.
Mass Effect choices give you the illusion of choice. You "buy in" to the choice system with your imagination. Playing that game is like playing with toy ninja turtles. You know they aren't real. You just substitute reality with belief, and there you go. ... If you're not ready for the double-think then such choices lose their lustre, and power.
Mass Effect would have been so much better if all dialog options were just white and they never let you know either way if what you are doing is good or bad, you decide that for yourself. Good and evil choices in general just suck a lot. Fallout 3 had a karma system but when making choices through dialogue you never knew if each option was going to leave you on good terms or bad terms with the person you're talking to.