I don't think so. Jennifer Lien's a fine actress, but her character really didn't have much to do other than be somebody's girlfriend. I do think they were trying to find things for her to do like be the Doctor's assistant, be Tuvok's unofficial apprentice, and even have her be a gardener.
It should be noted that the "catsuit" was in an episode in which her character was possessed by somebody else. Afterwards, the so-called catsuit disappeared.
As far as the other episodes, they had to something with her, because the character was supposed to have a very short life-span, so she really should have matured by then.
In your opinion, perhaps, but I'll have to side with the studio and producers on this one.