As frustrating as some of the bugs can be (especially the banter bug, as companion banter is something I've always loved about Bioware's games), I just don't get the fan-rage on the official forums. I loved getting to know the characters in DA:I and watching the story unfold.
And I agree, it's never quite as good on a replay, because some of the magic of getting to know the characters is lost and it becomes more of a "well, I know they like it when I do this" or "I did X last time, so I'll do Y this time to see what's different."
That being said, there always seems to be a couple characters I neglect on my first play-through that I then focus on during my second, so there's still some of the getting to know them on the second play. In DA:O, for example, I couldn't connect with Sten on my first play-through, so I didn't use him. I also didn't care for Zevran. So my second play-through I used them both more and managed to befriend them both. Recovering Sten's sword and having him call me "kadan" was immensely satisfying after my failure to get along with him the first time.
I also think that DA2's Friend/Rival system helps with replayability. After seeing how Anders and Merrill turned out in my first play-through, I'm rivaling them both the second time and I like that you can, depending on your choices, rival them without being a jerk. You can play someone who honestly cares about them, but doesn't agree with the choices they're making, and that's fantastic. In some ways I'm kind of disappointed that DA:I went back to the simplified approval tracking. (Though even DA2's system is too simplistic. There's times where you sabotage your rivalry by doing something your companion likes that's unrelated to your point of contention. Or the silliness of gifts actually raising your Rivalry, if you're far enough down that path, even if they like them. However, I imagine a more realistic relationship system that tracks both affection and agreement on two different graphs would be a nightmare to implement.)
But yeah, I'm totally onboard with the Bioware model. While I know some people are upset some of their previous choices only seem to make a cosmetic difference, if at all, I still enjoy seeing the affects my previous characters had on the world. And walking into Skyhold's garden and seeing my Warden's son standing there was a serious "Woah" moment for me.