Tom,
There's no question that expectations play a part in what would be our "most pleasant surprises"; I'm not sure the same holds true for our eventual ratings.
For instance, take Jud T.'s question to me about Legends (Moorland). Given the popularity of Myrtle Beach as a golf destination and given P.B. Dye's penchant for over-the-top, difficult architecture, and given that I'd played both Heathland and Parkland courses there years before, essentially avoiding what I assumed from word-on-the-street was a crazy ball-buster until I finally broke down and played it with my wife three or so years ago, I found that it was none of what I'd assumed. Instead, I found it to be a very creative course that one could play either safely and smartly , or stupidly and recklessly. PB built some great variety into dead drab landforms and the litmus test of whether my wife could get around without too much bloodletting also factored into my positive surprise.
That being said, it's at best a 6 or generously a 7 on the Doak Scale, but I'd anticipated an outrageously overdone 2 or 3.
I'm also a bit more of a fan of quirk and blindness and flat out sense of adventure and discovery than the average bear, perhaps which goes into my probably higher than the norm reactions to Eastward Ho!, Yahnundasis, and West Chester.
Pine Tree kicked my butt but I expected to have little to no options on most holes and instead found there were almost always ways to play safely if one wanted to risk half a shot and it had considerable variety and interest.
Gullane, was just magical. I never knew.