re: Did you think Kirk was arrogant?
No, Shatner's Kirk didn't strike me as arrogant.
Remember the Next Gen episode where Q takes Picard back to his Academy days, though, and Picard talks about how arrogant he was back then? I'd chalk the arrogance of a younger Kirk up to the same thing. (And hope that Abrams does too!) Growing pains.
Thing is, we know that this Trek is going to be different. The franchise has settled into entirely new hands. But it worked wonders for a 70s series called Battlestar Galactica! :-)
Call me an optimist.