I suspect that I am particularly prone to enjoy works like the
Nights simply because I enjoy Fantasy in general so much. I can understand that they wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea.
Personally, though, I feel that while there is no doubt but that the Haddawy translation is more readable than the Victorian attempts, what I found lacking in his approach was the exotic otherworldliness that exists in Lane and Burton and which Lyons also has. I felt, too, that he was shooting himself in the foot by refusing to include the "Orphan" tales in Galland which, rightly or not, have become part of the collection and which were included by Scott, Lane, Payne, and Burton.
The first English translation of Galland was the famous "Grub Street" version. Jonathan Scott felt that Galland deserved a more literary approach and his 1811 version is really quite nice. It was and has remained fairly popular.
If you are interested, the
Delphi Classics ebook of the
Arabian Nights is quite inexpensive and includes the complete translations of Scott, Payne, Burton, Lang and the adaptation by Julia Pardoe. (All are 19th century). Also included is Lane's
Arabian Society In The Middle Ages. I think it is a treasure-trove!
You could get all of those free as individual ebooks but it's nice to have them in one file and the ebook also has some very nice illustrations.