I agree you need to know why you're getting baptized, otherwise your baptism is no different than an infant baptism. To me the debate is more about how much Bible knowledge vs. faith one must possess in order to "qualify" for baptism. It's almost akin to the circumcision debate. IMHO, baptism in the Bible was a function of faith and not knowledge. Jesus rewarded the thief next him him based on his faith. Cornelius, and no doubt many others, received baptism based on faith... albeit they obviously received their faith from Jehovah based on their reaction to learning the basics of "The Way." To me, faith is the key, and is what's most important to Jehovah and Jesus, not which doctrines are supported by various scriptures. If baptism is based on knowledge, and a person's level of knowledge/experience is used to deny baptism, even to someone with exceptional faith, then why do some congregations baptize individuals within months of starting a Bible class, while others, like the one I attended, put onerous restraints on it? And why do some congregations baptism "infants?" Because to me, a 6 year old is an infant spiritually.
The WT can't have their cake and eat it. Either baptism is a free gift between the individual and God, or it's a WT controlled initiation, requiring works. How are the WT's Q&A sessions any different than a Catechism? Cat-e-chism -noun- "a summary of the principles of Christian religion in the form of questions and answers, used for the instruction of Christians." The elder who taught me said I had more faith than anyone he had ever met, and he knew anointed brothers and sisters. He wasn't wrong, as I have absolute faith in Jehovah and Jesus to the point I would gladly die in order to prove it to Satan. I imagine most here share this absolute faith, which I believe draws attacks by those inside and out who lack faith. My baptism was held up due to imperfect men, either because one fancied a woman who liked me, or because another elder who was very controlling felt I called him a Pharisee... maybe a little of both. This unChristian action goes against everything the Bible stands for. So according to some, I would have to go back to the WT, lie about my Bible based beliefs, many of which I learned here, and "work" in the field ministry to live up to some arbitrary expectation of hours, in order to qualify for baptism. This is a perversion of the Bible, and betrays everything Jesus stood for.
EDIT: I'm not saying Jesus baptized the thief.