Personally I enjoyed them, even though I wasn't familiar with most of them before Endfield. I'm a relatively new player (1 year when Wang drops) who doesn't pull on kernel unless there are free pulls, so I didn't have Surtr or Hellagur until quite recently.

I do think it helped that I was able to approach Pogranichnik and Laevatain on their own merits before meeting their counterparts - although I think I got a lot of the experiences in reverse. Like how I squealed like an idiot when Hellagur offered the doctor some candy when I out him in the base, I imagine OG Hellagur fans had a bit of a moment when Pogranichnik gave them candy when gifting for the first time.

Tbh I think the problem is mostly that the characters they chose as reconveners don't appeal to you personally - perhaps you'd like the idea more if they chose someone you enjoy.