I personally liked Ruon Tarka. He felt like a good foil for our protagonists. Sympathetic, believable, but still squarely in the wrong. I did not, however, believe Book siding with him for so long.
But I agree the coolest parts of S4 were at the end, trying to actually learn about the 10-C for first contact.
I get the hate for those movies, but I honestly enjoyed them all.
They are what got me to watch TOS, finally. Then I did a full watch through of the series. They were great for revitalizing the fan base and making new fans.
I honestly love having the movies as a different universe/timeline. Saves us from tone whiplash, like Shakespeare TNG Picard vs Rambo Movie Picard.