What is a Good Table?

Spend a night close observing the interactions in a restaurant, and you'll notice many things. You will see customers debate tips, and employees subtly react to them, you will see chefs shout and patrons "yumm", you will see reservations cancelled and specials eighty-sixed. However, most of all you will see some incessant complaining.
The first, if not the most comment complaint to surface in a dining scenario is concerning tables. The people in the banquettes want to sit in chairs, and those in the chairs want to sit in the banquettes. Other parties do not want to sit directly opposite one another at their two-top.
In a restaurants, there is a constant concern about sitting in a good table, maybe a fear of sitting in a bad table.
Yet, what is a good table? And, are there really bad tables?
Well, your momma wasn't lyin', there are some bad tables out there waiting to get you! In my opinion, the worst tables are found in smaller restaurants without the luxury of space for a lobby/entry foyer type of area. Instead, seating is crammed in by the door. This location is awful! The traffic is distracting and the shifts in temperature accompanying entries and exits is unpleasant to say the least.
Likewise, tables close to the kitchen are generally pretty poor. (Said coordinates should not be confused with the trendy table within the kitchen.) Dining near the point of departure for food leads to less privacy, blasts of heat, and the privilege of watching the wait staff scurry about for the entirety of your meal. On this note, one should also avoid sitting in the vicinity of service stations.
What of the style of seat? This topic is really a matter of a personal taste. However, I believe that the question is contextual. The banquette is nice when one is out flossin' with a bottle of Cristal and some, uhh, hoes, but I have not had such an opportunity since I recorded that duet with the late, great Notrorious B.I.G. If one is seeking fine dining as opposed to Gangsta' or Gangster stylings, the chair is probably the way to go. While the banquette offers comfort and privacy, I enjoy sitting at my meal upright not reclining; there is a reason that we eat in our dining room not our living room.
As for other facets of the "good table", the question of view comes into play. Legend has it that Joey Gallo always sat in a corner table so that he could see who was entering, and keep his back covered. (The incident at Umberto's Clam House dispelled the prudence of this technique.) For those of us not concerned about getting whacked, the corner table can often feel distant; depending on the type of dinner desired, this sensation can be classified as positive or negative.
The same can be said for the center ring feel of eating in the middle of the floor.
So, ultimately we see that the issue often boils down to a matter of taste! There are certainly bad tables, but the good seems a bit more subjective.