I thought Joel was a total dick from start to finish. There is not a single redeeming feature to his character. As someone pointed out already, he wanted to leave those people behind even just as the infection started. I mean, once the game gets going and you find out more about the character, you realize he had been a hunter, preying on innocents. I can understand that you need to adapt to a new environment, but you have to be a pretty shitty person to think that being one of those hunter people is justifiable under any circumstances. There is always a better way. They are just extremely weak individuals who prey on the weak instead of facing the infected.
The game shows the two main approaches to survival through the two brothers. Joel is a greedy, selfish person who just takes the easiest route for his own survival. His brother was the one with a conscience and tried to work together with others to build a new future. I found that it was much easier to identify with Tommy.
Also, Joel doesn't actually care about Ellie. The final act was done purely out of selfishness. He knows that this can lead to a cure, he knows that Ellie would probably have agreed to the operation, he knows that Tess' dying wish was to accept the job for the cure. However, he ignores all of that and kills a ton of people in the hospital just so he can have the life he wants.
Anyway, I agree that his decisions fit his character and the game was pretty good with a protagonist that wasn't the usual saint, but I sure as hell don't like or identify with him or the way he acts. Savage. There is pretty much zero argument in favour of a character like him and to those who try and justify it, I know I wouldn't want to meet you in a post-apocalyptic world.