After watching a video essay on modern Simpsons episodes by Super Eyepatch Wolf, I've concluded that most franchises will never be good or enjoyable (to us) ever again. While some of this may be due to mismanagement by the powers that be, I think it's important to take a step back and consider the following while opining over Sonic's past:

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1. Each of us grew attached to the franchise at specific times in our lives, and we each grew attached to specific iterations of the franchise. Time passes, we grow out of those phases in our lives, and the franchise grows out of whatever phase it was in at the time.
2. Nostalgia often compels us to overlook flaws. Modern Sonic games and extended media may have glaring flaws, but we can't rationally act like the segments of the franchise we love are perfect, either. The Adventure games had terrible camera issues, Season 2 of SATAM took a huge dip in quality (mostly due to Antoine and Dulcy, sorry not sorry), the Archie book was a tonal mess for most of its run, and playing the special stages with Tails in Sonic 2 is about as fun as hitting your big toe with a croquet mallet.
3. Children don't always have high standards. Sometimes they like poorly-written jokes. Some of them love how much Sonic resembles Mario. Having a game where they can bring their OC to life may be more important to them than a game with a complex story that meaningfully interrogates its previous lore. And they may dismiss gameplay bugs as a sign they need to get good, as we no doubt did.
4. People who played Sonic 3 & Knuckles probably thought the Adventure games were trash. Someone out there probably hates Sonics 2-3 & Knuckles for bringing a Western spin to the Sonic franchise, which arguably made everything much more complicated. Same goes for SATAM.
5. There is no objective way to define a good Sonic game. Consensus will change as new fans are born and get older. One day Sonic Colors Ultimate may be looked back upon as the peak of the franchise, for all we know. History is weird and messy like that.
6. No amount of money you personally spend will bend Sega to your will. They decide what demographic they want to appeal to, and while you're free to buy games and leave feedback, they don't need to listen to you. Remember, this is the company that made so many bad decisions leading into the Dreamcast that they went broke and were only saved by a dead man's money. If you offered a starving Sega a loaf of bread, they would likely eat their own hands instead and program a new game with whatever bony nubs remained.
7. Everything you love will disappoint you in the end. Maybe you'll fall in love with it again, but you probably won't. Know when to leave.

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That's all I've got.