There is need and then there is needy...

Do you prefer to be valued? Or taken for granted?

I want to be valued, I believe most people irregardless of their sex want to be valued, and that is one sense of being needed, in my opinion. On the other hand I do not desire to come home to an endless list of chores, and projects that have been assigned to me each day.

Yes I desire to feel respected and needed by the one who says they love me. No I do not desire to have a mate who can find endless things for me to do.

First, i think there's quite a difference between a "need" and a "want," but sometimes, it's hard to distinguish between the two.  Second, men as a group are often quite as different as to their needs and wants as women are in theirs.

As usual, IMO, the key is to communicate both your wants and your needs during the courtship phase, as a relationship is negotiated and built.  IME, failure to communicate your unspoken expectations is one of the prime causes of the failure of relationships/marriages, probably due to the fact that many of our expectations are assumptions that prove to be near-ridiculous in the light of the experiences and expectations of our potential life-mate/partner, hence the TRUE need to discuss these prior to making a lifelong-commitment.

For example, a man marries a woman expecting that she'll joyfully take on all the housecleaning, laundry, child-raising, and cooking chores, like HIS mom, and she expects to share these fairly, like HER parents did.  So personally, i think it smart to discuss your varied life-experiences and expectations, negotiate who will be responsible for what, then test each other to see whether or not what we SAY we'll do is what we actually WILL do.

A "man" who says, "Stay home, be a home-maker, raise the kids, and i'll provide all that's needed to have us flourish and succeed," yet won't get a job or an education is a liar to whom any woman would be a fool to hitch her wagon.  A "man" who says, "I'll never hurt you" is not to be trusted, either, ime---some situations simply require hurting another, e.g. encouraging exercise to reduce unhealthy weight or supporting one who wishes to be free of smoking, drinking, shopping, gambling, or drugging habits yet lacks the discipline to master her or himself at least initially---then there's childbirth, which pain some women blame the man for.

ETA:  On review, i see that i neglected to address your questions adequately, so i'll see what comes to me:

do men prefer totally independent women, or do they really want their wives to need them?

Depends on the man, and it depends on what the woman wants, but personally, i would want to be needed---and i'd want to be needed for my advice on things of which i have some knowledge or expertise(that is taken instead of ignored or devalued, like fashion or dealing-with-mom-or-dad advice), for hugs or a comforting shoulder, to cook or clean when she wasn't feeling up to it(for reasons other than simple laziness), to handle things as need killin'(anything from bugs to meat for the table to nutbars/bullies intent on mayhem of various kinds), to fixing things as or before they need fixing(like auto maintenance, furnace/AC cleaning/oiling, etc.), and, of course, to scratch her itch when she gets that twinkle in her eye.  If she was TOTALLY independent, she could take care of all her needs and wants by herself, so what would she even WANT a relationship for?

That said, she should have enough desire FOR independence that she'd be willing to learn what it takes to not only survive, but thrive, should i die or be incapacitated(either temporarily or permanently).

If they do want their wives to need them, what types of things do men want to be needed for?

See above for a partial list, but with all of that comes respect and at least the intent for kindness to be expressed toward me.  To be looked up to, not made to feel "less than" by the use of discouraging words or belittling, demeaning or cruel words/behaviors like passive-aggressively doing the opposite of what was requested(e.g. cutting her hair right after you express that you like it long), etc.

Again personally, i think that knowing what you need and want is only half the equation; knowing what you DON'T need and DON'T want is equally important, some clues to which are given above, but any unrepentant and unwilling-to-change behaviors like adultery, abuse, or addiction are deal-breakers, for me.  Other men differ, perhaps thinking that someone with one or more of the "3 A's" above will always need them to get them out of their messes, and/or they have a masochistic streak.

Warmest regards-

Hatman

What BOTH partners in any relationship need is respect, love, interest.   I don't "need" my husband to change a faucet, tire on my car, the oil in my car...I can (and do) do all that. 
I "NEED" him to respect me, love me for me, and be interested in me.

He needs the same from me.  He needs me to say, "How was your day?" and really listen to him, show an interest.  To love him even when I want to chop him up in small pieces and bury him in the back yard. 

John Gottman, a respected researcher in marriage, has determined that in healthy relationships there is a ratio of at least 5-1 positive comments ("applause") to negative comments ("criticism"), and that couples with lower than that have a high likelihood of breakup or divorce.

I would add in agreement with you that viewing praise as an entitlement is detrimental and misses the point. Praise is ideally genuine and from the heart. I would also go even further to say that all criticism is destructive (and that "constructive criticism" is an oxymoron). Nobody likes to hear criticism.

I also believe that criticizing is actually an expression of pain of the one criticizing. There are ways of expressing one's needs (including setting limits) without criticizing - or nagging for that matter. Nagging in fact is an expression of helplessness.

So the most effective response to criticism is to get to the bottom of the pain (or whatever feelings are driving it) - and of course to not take it personally!

That's because therapists are generally not well educated on what is truly effective, but rather are taught abstract theories. The other thing of course is that (unlike medical treatments) the success or failure is also largely dependent on the person's willingness to want to heal. Often it is the disorder itself that also keeps a person resistant to the kind of work that would help them.