Update: I just completed Chapter 1: Sith Warrior and I can say I've thoroughly enjoyed myself so far. The focus on story rather than just pure grinding I think is what sets this apart from other MMOs for me. Aside from the crafting hindrance of being a F2P player, my only other complaint is the lack of customization/adaptability when it comes to lightsabers. You want to change your crystal? Either you need to grind for a while on crafting, which I wouldn't mind if I wasn't locked to only 1 crew skill for being F2P, or spend ass loads of money on the GTN on a crystal you might not be able to use as only subscribers get artifact authorization. I wish any lightsaber based class could use any combination of lightsabers they wish, but I understand there are abilities that go into each class that uses each type of lightsaber. I just find it dumb how you can only use one kind.
Despite my minor gripes, I still enjoy myself and definitely recommend it to anyone else who has been iffy about MMOs in the past.