Oh I agree. I completely understand what TFA had to do for Lucasfilm and the franchise and I thought it worked out really well. But I enjoy this time period in Star Wars and it felt inherently different than anything I've seen in the franchise, and unlike the prequels it was a good different.
I think that TFA did have the better leads, but they also had the knowledge they had more movies with the cast. The characters in this film felt like soldiers to me, a single goal and insurmountable odds that didn't need to have a ton of focus thrust upon them, unlike Rey.