and some of those side quests should have been part of the main plot instead and would have at least made the grind more meaningful IMO. I would have rather had that than the Mid side quests that grinded the game to a halt at certain points.There are entire plot threads that transition from being main plot to side quests. You meet characters in the main game and their story continues in the side quests through multiple quests.
Not saying there wasn't a lot of filler but that's the nature of side quests overall in games.