I've seen several references to "Avatars". I'm assuming that refers to the small personalized pictures that go with the name I see on some other vBulletin sites.

If that be the case I vote "NO THANKS". I find the darn things annoying as heck. Unless of course there is an option in my profile to suppress them....

What's your vote?

You do have the option to suppress them. Under User CP and then Edit Options, in the Thread Display section.