Well, the incompetent lackey only has so much storytelling potential, but the oppressed genius can star in a number of episodes. It was a change from the Rom we saw in season 1, but one that was for the best of the shows.
I particularly liked that DS9 made an active effort to improve upon their disliked characters. Bashir never topped my favorites list, but he wasn't at the bottom of it anymore by the end, like he was at season 1.