Just a random thought to interrupt the alignment arguments: have we ever seen what Halfling culture or society is like? Except for Belkar's unreliable narrative backstory, and his Good conscience expecting him to be jolly, I can't recall anything about how Halflings are in general in the ootsverse (whether it's a Pseudoshire, or a thieving pile of thieving thieves like 3.5).
It could be a good indication for why Serini is how she is. She's not screaming evil at me, she sounds embittered. If you'd gone your life as a regular jolly halfling only to become a pariah solely on your appearance, you'd be pretty cranky to some paladins as well.