I like having the magic small, in the shadows, and uncontrollable. When it is an ever present part of the world it is easy for plot hole questions and lazy deus ex machina writing. Star Trek often did this where engineers came up with some new 'magic' that worked once and never seemed to come up again. It becomes a crutch for lazy writing and creates inconsistencies. One of the things that really bored me about the Harry Potter series, though to be fair I haven't read them and only watched a few of the movies.

Good historical political intrigue with battles and fighting can be compelling and really interesting. It better alludes to history and encourages people to read it. It also forces characters and the audience to think critically and creatively.

The dragons and white walkers are so far mostly work for me. The dragons are a mystery to most people, and an uncontrollable threat and power for those that interact with them. The White Walkers are a largely unbelievable, ever present threat off in the great dark north. Both of these are ominous and mysterious threats to normal human order but are largely left in the dark. If we knew more of their inner workings, I think it would lose the mystery. If they were more involved it would open up the show to all sorts of whimsical magic - maybe Sansa should discover a magic ring that can make her dreams come true, maybe children of the forest could whip up an anti dragon spell, maybe giant fucking eagles could swoop in and kill the white walkers at the last minute and take Arya and Bran back to safety.

I think Tyrion's perspective is maybe the best for the audience to follow. He's a cynic, like most of us, embroiled in the affairs of men, who so far has only just been teased with the mystical parts of this world unsure of what to think.