I thought Bk 8 blew chunks.
I think the various reasons have already been discussed. I also must admit to cringing at the robots in OTU adventures, ie the tin can on wheels with the glass dome for a head and the metal tentacle arms.
As for the general question of robots in Traveller, it's always an interesting issue.
[Side question: I never got into TNE that much, but was there a situation with Virus and robots? Or did they just sidestep that entirely?]
IMTU, robots are essentially extensions of today's manufacturing drones, only smarter and a little more autonomous. Eg, automated cargolifters that scoot up to your dirtside trader like a bunch of ants and whisk your cargo away.
It also seems that human capital is cheaper than robotic technology in the Traveller universe, and so there's an argument that robots and replicants of the Terminator/Blade Runner variety would be prohibitively expensive to develop/acquire/maintain. There are of course counterarguments to this (which I'd love to hear) and special situations, but personally I'd rather just sweep the whole mess under this rug and avoid robots IMTU unless there's some very cool scenario that requires them.
Essentially, robots are widgets IMTU. I'm personally less interested in cyborgs, androids and battlebots (and the attendant ironmongery) than in actual characters.