There are a few things I like about Dawkins.
His ideas about memes are interesting, and I think that memetics is one way to describe what can be termed "Cultural evolution".
Another thing I like about Dawkins is his description of a cell as a 'survival machine' for a bit of genetic material. This concept probably helps a lot in abiogenesis research.
Genetics preceded cells.
However I agree with most of what has been said about his being an arrogant and hateful person. I don't believe all atheists are this way, but a sizable number of them that I've met have been that way. He's not content to have his philosophy and leave others be, he feels that he must ridicule believers.
Neither theism nor atheism are based in science, as science only studies the natural world. Theism is a belief and atheism is generally a lack of belief in the supernatural. Dawkins crosses the line from a simple lack of belief, to that of a positive belief that there is no supernatural world. That's the distinction between weak and strong atheism. Strong atheists, in my experience, tend to be the more obnoxious types, while weak atheists tend toward agnosticism.
One of the most ridiculous things that Dawkins has been involved in was the "Brights", a group of atheists who apparently think they're brighter than the theists, even though they claim that's not what it means.