Bashir was probably my favorite character on DS9. Though I enjoyed more characters. He was definitely cringe in the beginning. So, it was not love at first site. The only thing I liked from the beginning was his friendship with Garak. I was probably the only one that didn't think his reveal as genetically enhanced ruined the character. In the beginning I did not like too much then the idea grew on me. Do I think that Bashirs progression is underrated? Well, the character was certainly not taking the character for granted. As you said he had a long character arc transforming him to what we get in the end. The fans maybe.
