I never really felt like it ever lost focus. The Dark Masters being evil Precursors who created and controlled the Metal Heads made them an effective overarching villain, and all the enemy factions were aimed at the same end goal.
Errol being an unstoppable hater driven insane by Dark Eco after all the shit he gave Jak was hilarious to me. He was an insane pawn motivated by a personal grudge, and while he lacked the stage presence of Praxis and Kor, I hated him on a more personal level than either.
Gol and Maia coming back would have been neat.
I agree.
I didn't really like the Temple tbh. It was a nice throwback to Jak 1 but wasn't a particularly fun level outside fighting the Baron at the end. The Palace was definitely the peak of Jak 2, which is unfortunate since it kinda sizzles out and then nothing else in the game matches up.
I hated the racing mini-games in Jak 2, which probably kept me from appreciating the stadium
Jak 3 had a consistent series of banger set pieces, and it saved the best ones for the end.
The return to Haven City through a valley full of those sling bastards who could snipe you from a mile away, culminating in a fight with an actual fucking Precursor guardian robot (chimera though it was), the dinosaur hunt, finding that damn satellite in the dust storm, climbing the monk temple only to glide down off it again, the seige of the Air Factory, the rhino car ride with Damos, the dive to the planets core, the spaceship raid, and especially the final fight against the Planet Shaper.
Best car in the game with one of the best side characters along for the ride.
I cant say i agree with that since Jak 2's combat was so much calmer than Jak 3's. You can (and generally were better off) use only the Blaster for 90% of the game. Whereas in Jak 3 you use Yellow by default until you get swarmed, switch to Red to clear space, use Blue for big single targets or bosses, and Purple as "fuck this fight".
The Reflexor spin was hilarious but was generally a good way to burn through ammo better spent taking out fliers or snipers. If you were getting swarmed you were much better off using Red 2/3 or doing the Spin with Blue 1 (or 3 if you felt like playing a Macross anime lol).
More importantly, in Jak 3 most combat doesnt end until you disengage. You have an objective to complete and until you do you get progressively more swarmed, so actually using the more efficient weapon lets you get through the missions much easier.