Esp? Esp, Esp, Esp *points fingers to eyes, then to yours, then back to mine*
Trust me, it's a show that you'll get hooked on, if only for the antics of Neil Patrick Harris, who is by far the REAL reason to tune in every week. Jason Segal's a close second.
And yeah, it's a sitcom. It's got a laugh track. Just go with it. I laugh when I feel like laughing and fortunately, I tend to laugh right along with said laugh track.
Honestly, Chuck, I don't see understand how you feel Ted is unlikeable. I remember you said once that he's unfunny, but really, he's the straight man to the antics of Barney and Marshall. Ex.: Barney used Ted's name in a joke/pun that it took him much longer than his friends to get.
Ted's kinda like Buffy: he's not the most interesting character in the show, but he keeps the plot moving (as far as the plot/point of the series itself).
But unlikeable? I wish for you to extrapolate further on this point.