Ok, no one has touched mashed potatoes. I'll add my 2 cents. The thing that generally makes bad mashed potatoes is that people try to cut back on the fat or the salt. More rarely, people fuck up the potatoes, usually by boiling whole, large potatoes instead of using very small potatoes or cubes. Also, people forget how much salt that potatoes can handle and so they do not salt the water that the potatoes boil in. And remember, start the water with the potatoes in it and then bring them to the boil together. Anyway, back to fat. It doesn't matter what fat is used, but that fat is the first building block of flavor (on top of the potato flavor). The second is salt; how much I salt my potatoes during mashing, pureeing, or ricing depends on the flavor of the fat and if the fat is salted already. So, if I use salted butter, less or no salt. Olive oil? A lot of salt. Chives or green onions work very well in potatoes, as do things like garlic (particularly grated garlic), herbs, a little horseradish and/or mustard. The next round of fat after the butter or drippings or whatever, is milk. I always use whole milk, if I'm using milk. The last batch of mashed potatoes I made used a mixture of buttermilk and sour cream and man oh man, it was good. Another thing I like to do, is to steep things in the milk or whatever liquid component. Leeks work well, as do chives or other herbs and sometimes I'll add all the seasoning to the liquid to gently steep for a while. Of course, if you do this, it has to be ready for when the potatoes get mashed.
Where do you stand on the chunky vs. smooth mashed potatoes? These past few years instead of normal white puree looking stuff my mom has taken whole red potatoes, put them on a roasting pan, and given each one a loving tap from her kitchen mallet. Stomp the bastards flat, drizzle with olive oil, sea salt, black pepper and rosemary, and bake. They're delicious and it's kinda harder to eat like 4-5 potatoes worth when they're in discrete units.
It depends on my mood. Sometimes I like a very smooth mashed potato (generally with a lot of liquid incorporated, like a very, very thick potato soup) and other times I want something more like barely-smashed potatoes. Most of the time I like them in the middle; smooth parts very smooth and then big ol' chunks of potatoes and skin. My mother has tried that preparation you mentioned, too. It is very good and when you can see the number of things you are eating, you are right, it makes it easier to make a good decision. Honestly though, if I could eat hashbrowns all the time, I would. Heck, even tater tots. I was surprised that they are everywhere in Portland, OR. It's easier to find them in New England now, but still not as easily as in Portland.
Daily dose of sacrilege - I hate mashed potatoes. Actually, I don't really like potatoes at all. Which probably invalidates my entire list below, but there it is. The only thing I like about mashed potatoes is that they allow you to make potato pancakes with the leftovers.