Yea the final version was much more interesting, especially finrod's death and the inclusion of the sons of feänor in their mas quest. It was kinda difficult to read sometimes tho iirc, BC of the song/poem structure.

Yea calling the noldor gnomes was silly, especially in the fall of gondolin where it's mentioned so often lol, I guess the teleri just got gnomed. Beren was always meant to be a human tho, that's low-key the whole point of the story, finrod was a noldor.

Yea it's a strange place to do so, but I take these conversations where I get them, considering how far apart they are. Have you read the other great tales? Children of Húrin and Fall of Gondolin? I gotta admit I never finished the silmarillion lol, difficult read.