Hello and welcome, I'm BK FFS! We're glad to have you. I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on Brian's progress throughout the series.
I agree, it was so great getting to see Brian evolve from the guy in the pilot, to the guy he became at the show's end. All of these characters experienced some level of personal growth, and NONE of them were exactly the same as when the show was first starting out. Which is why I do not get what people mean when they call it OOC simply because Brian wanted to stop living so much in fear, and wanted to finally show how much he loved Justin. It was so powerful that Brian was finally letting that well-repressed romantic side to his character be known to the world. Sure, some of the behavior he showed went against what he'd said or believed in, but there is always that battle between logic and emotion. This time, his emotions won out. It's like his heart and soul were singing.
