It's gonna be damn near impossible to top "The Dark Knight." I can't wait to see what Bane's motivation is in Nolan's take. Is the mafia using him as an equalizer? Is he taking the place of Ra's al Ghul's servant Ubu? Of course he's not huge with a badass luchador mask and tubes all over. This series is supposed to be based in reaity. You don't have to be super muscular to be strong. I've seen bar fights end surprisingly well for not-so-cut dudes. My guess is he kicked Gordan's ass, and possibly kicks Batman's ass and/or kills him at the end. Either that, or gets killed (maybe even by Batman's self sacrifice), saving the day and Batman receives a letter from The Joker, congratulating him and looking forward to their eternal battle. Both scenarios would provide a sense of closure to the trilogy. The scenario(s) in which Batman dies would be both a bold move, and a great excuse for rebooting the character for the Justice League incarnation.
I expect Catwoman and her alter ego will be simply a love interest, never crossing fully into villain territory, which I came to the conclusion of after seeing her lack of inclusion in the teaser. She's a jewel thief, he's the guy who's supposed to bring her to justice, yet he sees a kindred soul within her. "Hey, we both dress up like animals and do stuff at night!" I have the sinking feeling that Anne Hathaway in costume is gonna be the marketing "bait" with very little payoff.
I'm curious as to what role Ra's al Ghul will play, as he (seemingly) died in Batman Begins. He was a master of deception, so it's possibe he faked it. He REALLY seemed hellbent on destroying the city, so maybe he had a Plan B. In keeping with the realistic tone, I don't think he'll be using a Lazarus Pit to come back to life. If his daughter Talia is in the film as rumored, that would create a Bruce-Selina-Talia love triangle. If he chooses Talia, he'll father a child, making his mentor/enemy the grandpappy of Batbaby. Noodle that one.
Like I said, it's gonna be tough to top TDK, especially with the man who plays Batman's never ending foe dead and the character still alive within the film universe. Hopefully we see at east a nod to him. Basically, if you know the characters at play, you can kinda see how the film is gonna come together. There are two outcomes. The first is it comes together nicely, making sense within the world of Nolan's Gotham City and closing out the trilogy nicely. The second is it all comes together convoluted like certain parts of Batman Begins, once again proving that one director cannot make a solid superhero trilogy (looks spitefully at Spiderman 3 Blu -Ray). Either way, we can all say "At least we had TDK."