Perhaps you'd care to elaborate on exactly what the cliches were? Cameron intended to make the early parts with the colonial marines feel like a Vietnam movie, where you worry that the soldiers' lack of discipline and seriousness is going to lead to tears. I'm not sure I'd call that a cliche. Honestly, I think the sound the pulse rifles make is sufficient to earn Aliens a place in cinema history.
I'm not sure I'd call them cliches, but the kind of one dimensional portrayal of the various marine characters. For example the Bill Paxton character--he starts the film the most outwardly bloviating and macho, and becomes the most (annoying) scared. It was played to 11 which made it feel very shallow to me. The company man was also a pretty one dimensional character. I also felt the mothering at the beginning and with Newt kind of cliched. I was very glad both Hicks and Newt were killed off for Alien 3, which in its directors cut version, I liked much better than 2.
I guess not liking Aliens much puts me well in the minority.
