As a die-hard Dwarf fan (all of my Alliance characters) I take pride in being the battle-hardened, tough and stoic race I am. We charge in to battle with an axe and a mug screaming and laughing half-drunk. I liken Dwarves to Vikings or Vrykul, we drink our mead and sing songs of battle before marching on to victory. It seems with such lore characters as Brann, Sully "The Pickle" and Fargo Flintlocke, Blizzard plays them out as being the comic relief older brother of Gnomes. We're the fat, short drunks of the Alliance who bumble about and belch and have ugly women. They've historically been the least-played race on the Alliance, ever since vanilla, and now are the least played overall (Trolls are now more popular than ever).
In Cataclysm, Dwarves were given a serious role in the war against the Twilight's Hammer and what comes of it? The Alliance is introduced to brawny Wildhammer Dwarves who try to arrange a hilarious wedding while the Dragonmaw wrestle Ogres and kill dragons. Moira herself is a play of Princess Leia, Brann's role is nearly always him pressing buttons and running away from danger, and lets not get started on Fargo.
Perhaps the only serious, non-comical Dwarf is Muradin who encompasses the badassery Dwarves have always been about, yet his role outside of ICC's gunship has been mostly politics.
I know other races have had moments of being comic relief, such as gnomes, goblins and blood elves, yet Dwarves have ALWAYS been just drunk jokes.
I'm curious to know what other players think. Are Dwarves just a joke of a race, or are they respectable?