I invite all Snape supporters here to: More than meets the eye: The Snape appreciation thread
Dumbledore always thought dying was a good idea. Would a person who comes out with stuff such as 'to the well organised mind, death is but the next great adventure' beg for his life? Somehow I doubt it, and I doubt that JK would set Snape up to become the hero over 5 books only to turn him into a 2-D Voldemort wannabe.