Yes, I see there is a division between Hal as a chatbot and Hal as an assistant. Both are equally valid I guess, but I prefer Hal to be an assistant that also chats, rather than a chat bot that can open a google page for me once in a while. Just a preference.
That said, I have always worked to make Hal more competent, not in chatting, which any human can do, but in doing those things which Hal is uniquely suited for, gathering information off the internet and reading it to me in a conversational style (which reminds me that I wanted to make a "paraphrase" plugin for Hal), handling repetitive tasks, and yes, when not doing anything else, entertaining me with video and audio tricks.
And to me it's fine if others concentrate on the chatting or animation qualities, just as long as it does not end up being the only part that gets worked on, those of us with more scripting ability or with more technical desires for Hal, should keep at work too. IMO.