It's like he was telling a story, that is rich and entertaining, but he wandered through the process and got bogged down in places or simply trailed off in others.

Generally people seem to want a more linear storyline ... Introduce the hero, put him in danger, have him save the day. RJ didn't structure the books that way, at least not clearly, and it allowed for many random plots that didn't really drive the story. I guess what I'm getting at is that it would be like someone trying to tell you the story of Jack and the Beanstalk but weaves Little Red Riding Hood and the 3 Little Pigs into the story because they think those stories will weave a better overall story for you, and then they also explain that in the timeframe of LRRH young girls often wore this type of garment and that wolves often eat pigs and that gold is valuable... Instead of giving you a clear story, you end up get confused by all the random detail that doesn't really contribute to the original story.

RJ is usually critiqued for being long winded and overly detailed ... Do we really need to know what some AS, whose name we don't even know, is wearing on a given day? Do we need to read about every floor tile in the friggin White Tower?

Like you I have a soft spot for the subject... I've been reading it since EoTW was first published and have never missed a new release of any of the books... I'm used to it and have come to expect it as part of the story. In fact I find Sanderson too bare in those random details and find myself thinking that he's not really telling the story the right way. RJ was no literary genius, but he was telling us his story in his way. People who criticize that can just keep on bitching... It's not like RJ was out to win the Pulitzer!