I went and saw the Transformers (starring Marky Mark) last (or two Christmases ago?) year with my cousin who's a huge cinephile. It was opening weekend -or at least close- and we were in the IMAX 3D theater. I'm not sure I've audibly cackled that much in a movie outside of my own home in a very long time. The director choices were physically comical to see put into action on the screen. I honestly think Bay is just trolling everyone with how ridiculous his choices are.
That's the kind of memories I have about the Transformer movies. But to be fair, I was a GI Joe, TMNT, and X-Men kid growing up. And even then, I'm not sure that any of them except the X-Men franchise has ever really been a huge nostalgia must-have for me.
But I'm also not sure if I was their target audience for the Transformer movies.