I think the show needs those scenes because the book has a ton of internal dialogue of Point of View characters. And don't worry about Sandor and Sansa, they will have their moments the show creators have stated as much.
O.K... Here is a question - Why did we need Jamie's scene outside of Robert Badroom? What about Sam and Jon long scene talking about Jon's virginity with Sir Alliser Thorne joining in later with his Monologue? Why did the Hand tournament scene was so short? Where is Loras? etc.