Was Jon ever that close to Bran? My memories seems to recall their relationship were more like Jon with Sansa. He was a true Stark to Robb and Arya but seemed more distant to Sansa.
This change is quite a thing. Hell, Hordor got stabbed in the leg. That got to have an effect later on.
Overall, I'm happy with the changes since I'm not a purist. For example, imagine how ridiculous would it be if Darrio had his three-pronged, blue beard and golden mustache?