I see your point, and I agree. No one likes cluttered forums full of forever-long signatures, images everywhere, where the posters have accumulated about 50 random badges a piece, among things. That's something GFAQs does well, they keep the interface, the visuals, among things, very simple. No pictures, no clutter, no filler.
That said, I definitely prefer NWR's method: Allowing an avatar let's users input just the right amount of personality to breed familiarity and recognition. Requiring that pictures be of a certain size limit, and typically asking that they remain relevant, well, there isn't a much better way to do things, I think, at least, on a forum. You get words words words, and they keep relatively relevant. That's what I think works best.