You're right about that. Ugh, I was actually pretty shocked when they showed the puppet strings. The only thing that I can say is a close rival to setting a precident for deaths is Friday the 13th.
I wish they didn't do it too much. Some humor is good, especially when the character is so despicable, but like you said, they tend to overdo it. What I used to tell my friends is that Freddy was the awesomest of the horror villians because not only did he kill you in grotesque ways, he made you laugh while he did it!