The Theme of "Freedom" in The Wire

First of all, I want to start out by saying that I don't see why this is considered the best TV series of all time. I can certainly see how someone could claim that the writing stands out among competition in its genre, like Law and Order or CSI: Miami, but it lacks a sense of subtlety. The writers seem to magnify all the themes they want to have the viewer think about by using somewhat hackneyed characters and images. For instance, the alcoholic, lonely rogue detective, the standard tough lesbian cop, the ever-angry boss, etc. In short, I don't think its all that original, and whoever said it is the best have clearly only watched shows about cops.
So now I would like to explore a somewhat underappreciated theme, that of freedom. Ever since the first scene in the show, I have seen everything as basically a quest to seek or maintain freedom among each character and character group. The man McNulty talks to about the murder does not tell him much, but he reveals an important aspect of what values rule behavior in the streets. When McNulty asks him why they kept letting the man come to the games to take the money time after time, he says that basically, to deny him the privilege to come would be to deny his sense of basic American freedom. The fact that this is the first scene gives a basic framework for the rest of the show, and every character relationship. Certain things constrain them, and other things allow them to express their freedom. What complicates this are the things that make the characters compromise their freedom against their will, and accepting the fact that on either side of the law, there are no truly free people.
For those on the cop side, the complex web of power makes it impossible for the detectives to do what they want. Everyone obviously wants to do what they want, and that is where the dysfunction comes in. McNulty is the most obvious case, as his higher-ups are always calling him "insubordinate" and threatening to fire him due to his independent ways. The fact that he is right about whatever the issue is rarely becomes a factor, and the chain of power and influence deters him from doing his job how he thinks is best. McNulty is one of the most rich characters regarding this theme, which is also evident in his love life. He slept around on his wife, and ended up a lonely alcoholic. This is a perfect example of why the desire to be free to do whatever you want requires checks, and is an inherently complicated relationship between allowing yourself to conform to certain restraints, and doing what you think is right.
On the criminal side, the desire to maintain freedom is perhaps more obvious. They are trying not to become imprisoned by the cops. They do everything covertly in order to remain free to do their trade, which is somewhat dualistic. It is a game of getting away with the most drug sales and the most hits without getting caught, in order to remain free to perform their trade. Much of D'Angelo's guilt comes from his questioning if his ability to perform an act morally rationalizes it. When he is being guilted in to writing an apology note to his witness's "kids", he says that the killing of the witness wasn't necassary, and he felt as if the victim had the same right to life that he had, and should be free to tell the truth without fearing death. Of course, it is impossible for everyone to get what they want no matter how free they are to do so, because one person's fulfilled wish is another's tragedy.