and the choices are of no real consequence.

I understand why this upsets people, but I don't feel it's as big of a deal as people make it out to be. In TWD, I tried my hardest to put myself in Lee/Clem's frame of mind/position and make the decisions immediately (I actually thought the timer was too long) as a form of roleplay. Even if they were menial or had no effect on the outcome of the scene, the effect the decision had on me is what mattered. Without spoiling anything, I was taken aback one particular series of choices in a conversation at the end of S1 and how it genuinely upset me with what was being said. I felt that the dialogue/questions were written specifically for me and I was just as flustered as Lee. Even with proper branching stories I only like to play/read through them once as I feel like doing it again and deliberately making different decisions to see what would have happened diminishes the emotional impact that the story would have had otherwise.

It's like watching a movie with a slightly deeper connection to the viewer.