I didn’t care for it either. It was like they wanted to explain why every alien race looked like humans in costumes, but I was perfectly fine with suspension of disbelief.
I didn’t know the story behind it until recently, but the first time I watched DS9, I thought “Wait, are they really trying to get away with replacing this awesome character with a younger, cuter actor?” I assumed it was a desperate bid for ratings.
I thought they both did a great job, but we’d had 6 seasons to get attached to Jadzia!
Stories about him are like a neverending supply of rage. I just recently heard about how he intentionally sabotaged Wil Wheaton’s career to avoid having to pay him more.