Something next to normal, that's the thing I'd like to try

Interesting, I wouldn't have thought of Riley/Sam. That's probably influenced by a new reading of them I picked up - the idea that they're consciously faking the perfection. Riley wants to "win the breakup" by showing Buffy how great his life is now, and Sam is intimidated by Buffy because she's all Riley talked about, so they're both putting on this huge show of how perfect they are. Not that they can't still be functional (at least when Buffy's not around), but it hints at some cracks in the relationship that we don't get to see.