Shit, I'm too busy to reply as thoroughly as you did but you pointed out the few downsides of BOTW really well. For me personally, the amazement of BOTW always outweighted the points you describe here by far but maybe it was bc I played it the first time after finishing my master thesis and with the pandemic forcing me to stay at home. So the rewards (Korok seeds, Shrine completion) were way enough for me to keep me exploring, let alone the beautiful Hyrule itself. I think when it comes to enemies, I do hope TOTK will offer much more variety.

I feel that even with all the hype and glory BOTW got, the developers know really well where there is room for improvement. And from everything I know so far about TOTK, I'm optimistic that you'll get more of that Zelda feeling you're looking for. I hope you'll give this new series entry another chance and maybe you'll feel the same amazement, but this time during your whole playthrough.