I watched seasons 1-9 in no time, but the last few years where it became a drama I just can't watch as quickly. I gave up about 5 episodes before the finale.
I find it the same way, but it's easy to remember the dramatics overall and also easy to forget there was still great material in almost every episode. I skipped 3 or 4 episodes in the last few seasons, but finished it off.
I do prefer the zaniness of the first 5 seasons, and moreso the first 3. Which is why, when I want a quick MASH fix, I go with season 3, then 2, then 1, then 4, then 5, in that order. And I wasn't even watching episodes back in the day for the first time until season 4 or 5.