It bothers me that the Romulan characters and the millenium-spanning plot device ended up being really nothing. Narek and Narissa were involved in a couple horrible one liners too. Giving and receiving.

I think there was a way in which Lore could have been written into it that would have been satisfying. I love every Soong clan member that he's ever played but this just turned into a rehash of the dynamics with the Augments arc in Enterprise.

I was also hoping Picard would die as well at some points.

Ultimately I agree with you - they're really hemmed in by what Stewart and Spiner can and will do and what fans expect from them - but their best out could have had Jeri Ryan take over - she's been one of the better characters on the show but just doesn't get enough time/space to breathe. Her scenes with the Romulans were particularly bad because they were obviously just rushing to get to the climax - and then she had that scene with Rios and you'd never know she could totally relate to his captain issues. Missed opportunities. (I reserve judgement on the fingers entwining for future seasons.)

I agree about the golem. And I hate that they doubled-down on the lazy. Make him immortal or nearly so or even glitchy. Give him something to wrestle with.

The fleet actions also really bothered me - the fleet compositions were very very much not fucking Star Trek and it's not like ship models don't already exist. Scores of identical ships out of nowhere also don't make sense in the context of everything we know of Starfleet's mobilization capabilities from previous series and the whole first half of this season.

Riker was a nice touch - more with that family please. Zheng He was a fantastic name for the flagship. The writers definitely get referencing Star Trek lore and the kinds of things a historian/archaelogist like Picard would pay attention to.