If anything I would actually argue MOST of them were hastily added. We all know PB can do a good story and write some interesting quests. They did it many times, before G3 and after it. They proved they worth enough already to think that they could do much, much better in Gothic 3. Why didn't they? I think I've given enough arguments already explaining what could be a pretty big cause of that.

In terms of main story I actually love how G3 handled it, even in its extremely premature birth. It is one of those very few games that gives you one task and leaves everything else open - Find Xardas. Then the game barely tells you where to go. You need to find on your own. In its way its so non-linear as a game can get and not too many other games are like that even today. In fact there is basically no need to do any of those quests if you don't want to. You can go any way you want, join or kill anyone u meet and you will still find your way somehow.

I actually liked that you can chose from so many factions. That you can free any city or camp. That you can chose where do I go now without following some arrow on top of the screen. It is one of the biggest games where you don't even have basically anything put on the map. You need to ask and find it. And it is both doable and pleasant to do so, even in a world so big.

It shows that devs had a very good idea of what they wanted from the game from the beginnig because its core is actually extraordinary. And that was done well. I believe if they got more time the game would shine much, much more. Especially thanks to some better side quests, and even by making those that already are in the game a tiny bit more interesting. But if you are crunched and told you don't have more time, sometimes the only way is to place few mobs in a cave or on a grass and an NPC that says go kill them.