I have been using Red Hat since version 4.2.  All versions since then have
seen fit to ignore some of my package installation choices.  I have to end
up going back and removing at least ten packages that I don't want, don't
need and that I explicitly UNchecked when installing.  Examples:

kernel-pcmcia-cs
apmd
linuxconf
rp3
pump
pciutils (your quality installer installed this on a bunch of 486's that
don't even have PCI buses...)
raidtools (guess I can do raid with a single 200Mb IDE drive on a 486 huh?)
isdn4k-utils (we're lucky to at least have POTS in this area, let alone
ISDN...)

There are more but I'm not sure what the whole list is, since some of these
packages have dependencies which installs even more crud that I don't want.

Those packages above are not required for a base install and I get a feeling
that I'm installing a Microsoft operating system - I get what the OS vendor
thinks I need, no matter what I tell the installer.

Apolgies if this has already been addressed in other reports or in upcoming
releases.  I didn't see it anywhere.  All I want is a Red Hat distro that I
can install that won't install the graphical stuff, the X libraries, the KDE
and gnome-libraries, GUI tools, and other stuff that Red Hat thinks I need
installed.  In the end, I want a command line only server - less wasted
drive space, less stuff to upgrade, less chance for local/remote exploits.

If its not already in the pipeline, a dedicated workstation and a dedicated
server distribution might be a good idea - you focus on two core markets
better that way.  And if there's something from the workstation distro I
want (like GUI tools or gnome libraries), I'll install them separately.

This just got under my skin, after I upgraded three servers and had to
delete a bunch of "junk" that I didn't want installed.