I absolutely agree about the decline starting years ago.
I remember when Bioware released KotOR, and most people were like "OMG, this is one of the best evar!!". I could only scratch my head and wonder if they were being serious. I still enjoyed the game, but it was hard for me not to mourn how streamlined it was compared to Bioware's older titles. That was the beginning of the end of the "old Bioware" imo.
I see where you're coming from.
However, at the time - I wasn't prepared for Bioware "going all the way" with that kind of thing - and I saw KotOR as a natural move to consoles, that made good business sense. Maybe it was because I respected Neverwinter Nights so much as an achievement. I really felt Bioware WANTED to further the genre and WANTED to make steps towards something revolutionary.
I didn't expect them to start focusing on that "KotOR-style" and streamlined gameplay exclusively - though I did fear it a little I suppose - and I had no issue with them branching out.
So, while KotOR was indeed a step away from complexity and tactical combat - I still think it had a strong design which fulfilled most of my demands in that way.
It wasn't until Jade Empire that I saw this being a huge issue - and yet I still kept faith that this was just a console thing, and that PC would still get a proper amount of focus in the future.
So, with Mass Effect - I (obviously being very naive) expected a "return to form" carrying the strength of KotOR - but with modern production values and strong intricate gameplay. I just didn't have the insight required to see that they'd go in the direction they did. I sat pretty much with my mouth open when I stared at the character system, the inventory system, and the loot system. I just couldn't figure out how they could make such a dull and dreary set of mechanics - when they're the people behind complex D&D adaptions. In terms of RPG mechanics, I consider Mass Effect a complete failure.
That's where it finally dawned on me, that the Bioware of old was lost.
I think I might have "let it go" if it wasn't for Dragon Age - and the insistence of Bioware developers (here on this forum, even) that they were still doing complex games with old-school gameplay. As it turned out, Dragon Age was obviously a remnant of when they started it - and the result was kind of a mixed bag.
Then along comes Mass Effect 2 - and now Dragon Age 2 - and completely cements that they have absolutely no interest in the old-school complex designs. They don't refine gameplay mechanics - they throw them out of the window. They remove everything that didn't quite work - instead of making those things work.
Really sad way of dealing with it.