In the personal i think "Ecchi" thing in anime its a poor tactic from the creator to deal with no ideas to fill the anime. I was enjoying Monogatari the other month but it just turn into something boring, is only watch the panties of the female characters ... I mean yeah, i can guess why people like it but, why dont they just do it hentai. If i want to watch some tiddies i just watch hentai, if im watching other kind of anime there's no reason to it be half hentai idk.
The truth is that this is often the case... That's why I do not like seeing such anime. It is, of course, personal choice of what everyone will see and what they like.
Fairy tail, it's started with very little ecchi, and had a pretty good story, but near the timeskip it was becoming more and more ecchi, it got a little ridiculous, it kind lost interest there.
On the other hand, I always had a prejudice against shokugeki no souma, like a anime about food with ecchi? like what the hell?, but it actually was very good, and the ecchi was basically just a inner vision of the characters when they were really liking the food and it was also used for comical reason.
So if the author knows how to use ecchi, it can be a funny and pleasant experience or a waste of potencial.