I'm not keen on the Dankworth theme, either, not most of the incidental music. A lot of it jars, and it gets repetitive. Things definitely improved when Laurie got on board.
I prefer the Emma-era mix of the Avengers theme to Tara's, though the Tara version (with the trumpet bit announcing Tara's arrival on the scene) seems to have become the go-to version to cover--it's hard to find a version that doesn't have it. I definitely don't hate the Tara theme, though. All of Laurie's incidental music was wonderful, really--he did a brilliant job of coming up with iconic pieces (so iconic that when he was too busy to churn out as much original material in the Tara era, the recycling of certain pieces was a bit distracting because they were so closely linked to certain episodes).
I love the TNA theme and incidental music, too, but then I love seventies music as a whole. Seventies music and glam rock have come back, anyway, so I never think it sounds dated, just funky.
(Though I must admit I was a bit taken aback to hear how similar some of his
Jason King pieces are to his TNA work--some of them could have easily been interchangeable).
Incidentally, for anyone interested in reading more about Laurie and his time writing music for the show, I highly recommend his biography,
Noises in the Head. It's a fascinating read and doesn't drag, and it gives another viewpoint into the making of the series (I'm always looking for fresh take from someone other than the usual suspects). It's probably the best Avengers bio that's never read.
Avengers songs? Well, there's one called "Keep It Friendly" that I'm rather fond of...
I make connections to stuff all the time, often to particular characters because of the lyrics. A lot of the Killers' output connects up to TNA in my brain (possibly because I co-wrote a lot of fanfic to
Sam's Town)--"When You Were Young" and latter parts of "A Dustland Fairytale" for Purdey, "The Ballad of Michael Valentine" and "For Reasons Unknown" for Gambit. I associate Roxy Music's "Love is the Drug" with Gambit as well--just something about that intro.
I always think Steed when I hear the Kinks' "A Well Respected Man," too--there's a video lurking there, methinks. Well, they did owe their name to "Kinky Boots," so maybe they were returning the favour. Does a better job than Tahiti 80's John Steed in any case.
Emma has had enough tribute songs that you really don't need to look very far. Some of Honor's own tunes are Cathyesque. KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" tends to remind me of the Avengers ladies as a whole.
The music for this series definately aids in dating it, along with the stunning fashions! 
