The reason I hated it (and still do) is because it came from so far left field I found it jarring.
It would be like writing Hal dating Donna or Jenni. Actually, a better analogy would be Bruce Wayne dating Lois Lane.
For better or worse, Carol is intrinsically linked to Hal. They have been together on/off for 60 years of publication. While I understand taking Carol and doing something new with her (as you said, she needed it), having her date a different bloke within the GL sphere was a serious misstep for me.