To each their own and we will all value different things in this game, but the sims in 4 are anything but unique. In fact they're all painfully identical, more so than in Sims 3 where the fact that they looked like each other had everything to do with CAS being hard to handle (it requires some effort to avoid the waxy look; nothing sliders and CC won't take care of though). But once you've created a sim you love, they are far more unique in your game than in Sims 4. Also where looks are concerned, apart from the fact that the emotions override their actions and reactions (personality), they also override their facial features, destroying all uniqueness you managed to give them when they were looking at you with a straight face in CAS. And that's just looks. I really don't care what people think of sims in Sims 3, but calling sims in Sims 4 unique is too far of a stretch. Can't leave this unmentioned because it's actually the worst flaw in this entire game. How much better would this game be if they actually were unique.
As for easy build mode: easy isn't necessarily better. It's great I can throw in a room anywhere I want to, but why would I if I can't decorate it any old way I want to? Filling a room with preset objects that often don't even match is not how I want to spend my afternoon. Building in Sims 3 can be hard, but I happen to like a challenge. That really doesn't put me off.
Quite a few Sims 3 packs aren't in depth, quite a few are. They also came with open venues. Is a club system in depth? That's debatable. Ordering a bunch of sims to start doing the same thing. For me that's as captivating as watching paint dry. Not saying that's objective, if you do like it you do, but it's got nothing to do with depth. Depth lies in the way sims react to each other. Do they remember things, do they treat their fellow sims the way we would if we were in their situation. That for me defines depth. Being able to walk into a restaurant is not more in depth than walking into a tomb and explore it, or walk into a karaoke bar and perform with an audience. Not sure what Sims 4's holiday sytem is, must have missed that one. Sims in 3 can take a few days off and have a holiday in their own world. Go camping, go swimming in the sea, go scuba diving, I can come up with a lot of ways they can spend a holiday. And they can also do it in France, China or Egypt if they want to. Or in the future even.
The very fact Sims 3 is so much more open and added so much different, diverse stuff, makes it way more in depth and adds numerous different things to do. Because it tickles our imagination and there's nothing deeper than that. Joining the forums here broadened my view on this, because I met simmers who were doing things in their games that never even had occurred to me. I don't think Sims 4 offers that, because the gameplay is so scripted and one dimensional. The developers came up with a plan and we play it. And each and every simmer has no choice but playing the very same game.