I've watched the pilot, too, finally
First off, I should mention that I have read the books and am probably very biased towards them.
The good stuff: The setting, the mood in general is exactly what I felt it'd be like. It was really dark and daunting and I enjoyed it. Also, Jeremy is a wonderful edition and his relationship with Elena is the one I like the most until now. Also, Tyler being an ass! Gotta love that
Bonnie's adorable and, of course, very much into guys
Vickie, the **** with a heart. And Caroline! Candice is a great Caroline, gotta love it
The not-so-good stuff: I agree with everyone who said SE seemed forced. Even as a big SE fan, I found it a bit much. Maybe that's just because I loved how they started off in the books, but their meaningful glares got on my nerves halfway through. Alright, they're meant to be, let's move on. Elena and Stefan alone or with others were great, though. But I did find Elena's character a bit underdeveloped, which is something that happened due to the forcing of SE.
I'm not quite sure why Vickie and Matt are siblings, to be honest. Right now, it doesn't serve any purpose... I miss Meredith. I miss Mrs. Flowers, although this guy might be cool. His "Uncle Stefan" seemed a bit much, though. Also, I think they've already humanized Damon too much. He is much meaner and crueler in the books, especially towards his brother. In their first encounter here, he wants to hang with Stefan, it seems, whereas in the books, he shows him right away who has the upper hand and leaves him almost dead in the woods (and no, he didn't care what happened to him). This almost seems to much like brotherly squabble than the real deal. Also, Vickie's "vampire!"
Favorite scenes:
Elena telling Stefan "You don't have to stand out there." and him going "I'm fine."
Sucks being a vampire, huh?
Damon's "Rawr" moment
Jeremy asking Elena if she's doing any better than he does
Jeremy and Vickie fighting in the woods
Caroline's confession at the end and Bonnie's "I gotta get ME home"
All in all, I think it was a good pilot, but I think my expectations were too high