Originally Posted by Passerby
Mechanically, those options don't affect his approval of you much since there are many other occasions to earn his approval, even with the approval cheese fixed. But narratively, because he listed them, they must have left an impression on him.

Yes, there's every reason to believe he was buttering up the player character, but the point is that he did not say that he believed you were a good person because you tried to do the right thing. He only cared that you succeeded in doing those things, 3 out of the 4 of which were determined by dice rolls (pre-Patch 4).

This is the point I was making: results that are determined by dice rolls affect your companions' approval of you, but not your intentions.
I'm not sure I follow. For me a narrative difference means the game's story takes a different turn depending on the outcomes of an event. In this case I'd expect a different result depending on whether you suceed at these quests. But out of the examples you gave, I don't bother with Zarka and I usually kill Aradin (if the goblins don't manage that). Yet Gale still confessed and asked for magical items. The only narrative difference to his quest I have seen so far is now on the evil playthrough, but this is the outcome of going the evil route from the start.

Gale speaking a few nice words doesn't necessary mean you have made an impression on him. That is in the realm of character interpretation, and, based on my own playthroughs, I don't interpret his words as such.