After reading, and contemplating a bit.
TS>TS2>TS3... ...TS4
(something went very wrong).
in comparison:
Elite>Elite2>Elite:F>Elite:DA -a forward evolution of a franchise.
If Elite Dangerous ended up like Deepspace, I wouldn't say it'd be bad. Just something went terribly wrong somewhere.
If The Elder Scrolls, after Skyrim creates TES VI, a dungeon corridor shooter... ...I will surely say something has gone terribly wrong. -It might be a frightingly good corridor shooter, but its not open world (to use open world as an example) Ergo... Something's gone awry.
THAT is the plain fact about TS4. Its a 'good game' but they messed up, by offensively remove the innovation TS was from the beginning up to and with TS3.
Since the beginning of computergames, there must either be innovation, consistency or improvement. Prefferably all three. In my opinion, TS4 breaks with all three of these 'rules'. -Then I find games, subjectively, boring and gives a plums plum about it. I sincerely believe a lot of pre-TS4 simmers also feels like that.